3. Pirelli
Cinturato Winter
AFTER the veteran Sottozero picked up a series of mid-pack results, the new Pirelli Cinturato Winter has taken a well deserved third place.
The Winter joins a Cinturato family already boosted by the arrival last year of the All Season. It has a feature in its tread that lets you know when it’s worn to the point that its snow performance is dangerous – the words Now Snow become No Snow as the tyre wears.
With a full tread depth it was effective on the snow, and earned podium places in all but braking. Even then, it wasn’t far off the best.
The Cinturato Winter felt loose on the handling track, requiring plenty of lock and the rear moving to get round, but that added up to a good lap time.
It was better on the wet circuit as it pulled the car through bends as rivals spun the wheels. Despite the good front grip, a stable rear end here helped it to a good result on the circle. It was mixed in deeper water, with the curved aquaplaning proving tricky.
The Pirelli was on the pace in the dry, however, with results close to the best, and it was a similar story in the coast-down test where it had a not-too-intrusive, lowpitched rumble on the rougher tarmac.
While Pirelli may have improved its driving performance, efficiency is some way off the pace-setters’; it would use around three per cent more fuel than the winning Continental.