The big winner was Bruce Winn, of Hubbard, Oregon.  Bruce pulled the winning key that started the beautiful custom Ford and now owns the coolest Flex in the country.  The tune-in giveaway promotion was conducted this year in partnership with SPEED and Grand-Am, and required participating viewers to locate the “secret word” broadcast on-screen during a Grand-Am Rolex Series race, and then fill in an online entry form for a chance to win the race drawing.  Each race produced one winner, and then the 10 winners from the 2009 race season were flown to Miami from all over the country to have a chance at winning the Foose-designed Ford Flex in a special Saturday morning trackside contest.

“I felt lucky when I drew number seven,” said Winn, who is currently driving the Flex back home to Oregon with his significant other Patty Sweet. “I thought that was a great omen – lucky number seven.  I could not believe it.  I watched Chip’s video of what he did to make this beautiful vehicle about 15 times and I sure wanted to win.  Now it has happened and I can’t believe it.  I am really excited.”

Foose signed the title of the Flex over to Winn right then and there.  The trip back to Oregon from Miami is 3,400 miles and Winn and Sweet are fully expecting to draw a lot of attention along the way.

“It’s a looker,” Winn said.  “It is a real looker. Chip did a really nice job on it.”

“This type of promotion is only possible if you have great partners as there are many details to sort out,” said Rafael Navarro, Director of Media Communications and Motorsports for Pirelli Tires North America.  “I cannot say enough about Chip and his willingness to get involved considering his very busy schedule, Grand-Am for their attention to detail and execution, and to Speed for the wonderful job they did in putting this all together and getting it on-air. We would like to thank all of the people involved in making this promotion a success and we couldn’t be happier that Mr. Winn is ecstatic about his new ride.”

Pirelli Tire North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tires for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets as well as markets and distributes tires for motorcycles and motorsports. Located in Rome, Georgia, Pirelli’s Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) employs state-of-the-art technology to manufacture tires for both export and domestic markets.

See the video >

The Grand Prix of Miami is a 2.5-hour sprint on the 2.3-mile, 11-turn Homestead-Miami Speedway road course.  The green flag is scheduled to drop at 1:08 p.m. ET on Saturday, and live coverage can be seen on SPEED beginning at 1 p.m. ET.

In addition to the driver and team championships for both the Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype and Acxiom GT divisions being decided in Saturday’s race, the respective class winners in the new Pirelli P Zero Club program will also be announced.  The P Zero Club is a season-long competition that allows teams to earn points for on-track performance as well as promotional and publicity activity. Like the overall Rolex Series title battles, the P Zero Club points race will also go down to the wire at Homestead with four teams in each class still firmly in the hunt heading into the finale.  The winning P Zero Club Daytona Prototype team will be awarded $50,000 at Monday’s banquet at the Hard Rock while the top GT team will receive a $25,000 bonus.

“We are proud of all of the teams and drivers this year.  Pirelli P Zeros have proven to play an important role Grand-Am Rolex Series competition.  Our involvement in the Pirelli P Zero Club reinforces our focus on excellence,” said Rafael Navarro III, Pirelli Tire North America’s Director of Motorsports and Media Relations.  “Pirelli embraces its rich racing heritage as well as our recognized position as a promotional leader in the motorsports industry and beyond.  The great competitors in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series have allowed us to achieve a great deal of success this year in both areas.”

In the Daytona Prototype driver and team title battles, a three-way fight will go down to the wire in Miami.  Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty and the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac Riley lead both championships with 309 points.  The No. 10 SunTrust Ford Dallara of Max Angelelli and Brian Frisselle is second in points with 301, and the No. 01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas is third with 299 points.

GAINSCO and Ganassi are also two of the four Daytona Prototype teams with a chance at the $50,000 P Zero Club bonus at Homestead.  They are battling with the No. 61 AIM Autosport Ford Riley of Mark Wilkins and Burt Frisselle and the No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley of Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson.  While GAINSCO and Ganassi have combined to win six of the year’s first 11 races, the pair of Ford Riley teams will be looking for their first wins of the season at Miami.

“Homestead is my home race and we always do well here,” said Negri, a Brazilian who now calls Miami home. “After the Rolex 24 we tested at Homestead and we were very quick.  The 2009 tire has performed really well for us this season.  Most of the tracks we were quicker than last year and the tires perform really well from the beginning to the end of the stint. Pirelli this year produced a really good product for us to race with and that will definitely help us this coming weekend.”

Patterson, Negri’s co-driver and the primary principal of the No. 60 team, is also appreciative of the P Zero program.

“Racing at any level is a mixture of athletic prowess, competitive spirit, top flight engineering and the economics of sponsors getting their money’s worth,” Patterson said. “Having Pirelli and their top flight dry and wet tires is almost privilege enough, but to have them go the extra mile and lay out some ransom money for the orneriest teams is something special. This just demonstrates their goodwill and commitment to sports car racing in a very tangible way.”

Pirelli’s technical commitment and expertise also gives competitors some confidence heading to a Homestead-Miami track that is notoriously tough on tires.

“Homestead is probably the hardest track we visit on tires,” Frisselle said.  “With the banking that we run at 170 mph to the slow hairpins that create drag strips, it is extremely hard on tires.  We are lucky Pirelli has done so much testing there and provide the tires that they do.  I would not be surprised to see track records broken and as always great racing.  The key for the drivers is not to abuse your tires early in your stint.

On the Acxiom GT front, No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche GT3 drivers Dirk Werner and Leh Keen have a 30-point lead over No. 07 Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R pilot Kelly Collins, 329-299.  The No. 87 is also battling the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R of Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis for the GT team championship.  The Porsche team leads the Stevenson Pontiac team by 29 points (329-300).

Not surprisingly, both the No. 07 and No. 57 Pontiac teams are also in the hunt for the $25,000 P Zero Club GT bonus.  Both are battling with the No. 66 TRG Porsche GT3 team and Sylvain Tremblay’s quick No. 70 Castrol Syntec/SpeedSource Mazda RX-8.  This is the first time a cash bonus has been offered as a year-end prize for GT teams participating in the P Zero Club or similar programs in the Grand-Am Rolex Series in recent years.

“It shows the commitment to GT that Pirelli includes us in the P Zero club,” said Tremblay, who co-drives the No. 70 Mazda with Nick Ham.  “Having a shot at the GT bonus shows that we are getting the job done both on and off the track.  Motorsports is a great promotional tool.  Pirelli “get it,” and this award is proof that they are putting the effort and the funds to showcase GT to the masses.”

Pirelli has also provided proof of performance to Acxiom GT teams this year and that makes tires just one less thing to worry about heading to a season-ending race with vast implications.

“(I’m) not worried at all about the Pirelli’s performance at Homestead-Miami Speedway,” said Collins, who co-drives the No. 07 Pontiac with Paul Edwards.  “They have been nothing but fantastic all season.  Any small problems we had were addressed right away and fixed.  The weather should not be a problem and the tires should only be better after a year of development.”

This weekend’s race marks the first time in nearly five years that the Grand-Am Rolex Series will race at Miami in the fall rather than early spring.

“Although we will be racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway much later in the year than normal, I don’t expect the weather conditions to be much different than we experience in early spring,” Davis said.  “The combination of warm temperatures and an abrasive track surface will always pose a challenge to a tire manufacturer.  However, I have been extremely impressed with Pirelli’s ability to adapt to these treacherous conditions and provide the Rolex Series with an exceptional tire.”

Rain is always something teams have to anticipate in Florida, but Pirelli has also taken some of the mystery and anxiety out of wet-weather racing.

“The only thing we may have to contend with is wet weather, but we are not worried as the Pirelli wets always perform very well and the car is well balanced in wet or dry conditions,” Lidell said.  “Obviously it has the tendency to rain throughout the summer in Florida in the afternoon so in that regard it could differ from previous years.  In general the tires have performed very well, as expected throughout the season.  Pirelli has also been hugely supportive of all the teams since they got involved with the series and it is nice that they not only provide great tires to race on but some great rewards for the teams and drivers too.”

NOTEWORTHY

- Monday night’s banquet will also see the second annual presentations of the Gianfranco Martelli Award, which is named in honor of the late Pirelli Tire engineer Gianfranco Martelli, who passed away in November, 2007.  Martelli was key part of the technical and engineering team that developed the Grand-Am Rolex Series Pirelli P Zero racing tires.  Although he was never able to see his P Zero racing tires in competition, Pirelli has ensured that Martelli’s memory and incredible contribution to the program is remembered through the award. Presented to both Daytona Prototype and Acxiom GT competitors, the award honors an individual or group from each division that best displays throughout the season the same qualities and characteristics for which Gianfranco Martelli was known: excellence, camaraderie and detailed perfection.

- The Grand Prix of Miami will also be the grand finale of the season-long Chip Foose – Pirelli Edition Ford Flex Giveaway. The tune-in promotion that was launched in partnership with SPEED and Grand-Am in April will see 10 winners from all over the country arrive in Miami this weekend where one of them will win the keys to the Foose-designed Ford Flex in a special Saturday morning trackside contest.

Pirelli Tire North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tires for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets as well as markets and distributes tires for motorcycles and motorsports. Located in Rome, Georgia, Pirelli’s Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) employs state-of-the-art technology to manufacture tires for both export and domestic markets.  For more information please visit www.us.pirelli.com.

The P Zero collection is confirmed by the new super cars as their preferred line of tire

Frankfurt, September 17, 2009. Pirelli’s Cinturato family of tires are recognized by the leading European certification bodies as the most ecological and safest line of tires on the market. In addition, the P Zero family have been confirmed as the favorite for high performance sports cars. And so it was – yet again – that Pirelli conquered the Frankfurt Show. The Milan-based group stood above the stands of the most prestigious cars and on the most eagerly-awaited models of the German show.

Green performance and safety. Dekra, one of the automobile sector’s leading independent certification bodies, and TÜV, the German certification body, agree that the Cinturato P6 and the Cinturato P7 are the tires that best match the needs of reducing the environmental impact of vehicle traffic, and of increasing safety.

From independently conducted tests, Cinturato P7 was clearly the best ecological tire in its category, thanks to reduced fuel consumption and hence, it’s reduced carbon monoxide emissions and its maximum levels of safety, particularly in the wet and dry. Cinturato P6, as well as seeing its ecological features confirmed in terms of savings and higher mileage was the safest tire in its category in all the tests performed: aquaplaning, road holding and braking on both dry and wet surfaces.

The most prestigious European certification bodies confirm the success of Pirelli’s commitment to Green Performance, that is to say the reduction of consumption and environmental impact, increasing at the same time performance connected with safety.

In particular, the P7 – launched this year and aimed at the medium- and high-end range – adds features associated with pure performance: comfort, driving pleasure, handling on bends and straight roads, precision on approaches to bends.

The Cinturato P7 cuts rolling resistance by 20% and energy consumption by 4%, knocks 30% off noise levels and reduces braking distance by up to two meters in both wet and dry conditions, using materials free of highly aromatic oils. Features which have made it the preferred tire for car makers’ new products.

Today, Cinturato P7 has been chosen for original equipment by Audi (A4, A4 Allroad, A5), Alfa Romeo (New 147), BMW (X1, 1 Series, 3 Series) and Volvo (S80, V70), Mercedes (E Class, S Class) for, a number of the newest and most prestigious models of the E Class were also present at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The P6 is targeted for cars with small and medium-sized engines. Launched last year, Cinturato P6 is the first renewed tire in the Pirelli brand’s history. It is designed to guarantee ecology, energy saving and safety and has been greeted favorably by the market and specialists alike. The Cinturato P6 guarantees the maximum safety in all weather conditions. In particular, it preserves road holding on bends and in wet conditions, and above all reduces braking distance, guaranteeing maximum safety for the smallest cars.

Pure performance. Pirelli is confirmed as the ideal partner for the most eagerly-anticipated sports cars at the Show. In the spotlight at the German event is the P Zero collection, an Ultra High Performance product line developed by Pirelli for the most prestigious and high-performance cars.

At Frankfurt this year, there was a contest between two super cars which replicate the challenge of the race track on the stands and on the road: the new Ferrari 458 Italia, a synthesis of technological innovation, creativity and Italian style and the McLaren MP4 12 C, the latest creation by the British manufacturer, which is distinguished by an even more streamlined profile.

A challenge of beauty, power and technology which finds the right partner in Pirelli P Zero, the most advanced product of the P Zero collection, innovative in its compounds, structure and tread pattern, chosen right from the launch on the market by all the high-performance sports cars.

“Made in Italy” was also represented by the Maserati-Pirelli partnership. In fact, under the spotlights of the Motor Show even the three flagships of the Maserati stable, Quattroporte, Granturismo and Grancabrio, came fitted for the occasion with Pirelli P Zero tires.

Pirelli PZero is also original equipment for Lamborghini. On show at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Murcielago will be fitted with P Zero Corsa tires. Designed with two different tread patterns, P Zero Corsa is the sportiest tire in the P Zero collection, designed to guarantee total grip on bends, under acceleration and braking. These features make it ideal for the racetrack and on the road in the most demanding conditions. Finally, the P Zero tire was also on display on the Gallardo and Gallardo Spider, the punchiest variant of the Lamborghini family.

P Zero also on the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, the Lotus Evora, the Bentley CTC, the SuperSport, the GT Speed, and the new Mulsanne.

P Zero Rosso, instead, for the Swedish Volvo and Saab cars present at the Show: Volvo XC 60, Volvo S80 Executive and Saab 9-3X chose the Ultra High Performance variant of the P Zero, which combines sportiness with extraordinary acoustic comfort thanks to the new tread pattern.

At the Frankfurt Show there’s also room for the Scorpion Zero Asimmetrico, which will be fitted on the Volvo XC 70 and XC 60 “R design”.

In a break with tradition, Saturday’s race will be a 2-¾ hour timed sprint instead of a 1,000 kilometer (9 hour) endurance race. It will be run on the same 4.486-mile, 24-turn road course outside of Salt Lake City that has hosted the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series since 2006. Regardless of the race length, top Rolex Series teams and drivers know that the Pirelli P Zeros are up to the challenge.

“The Pirellis have been great this season,” said Darren Law, who was part of the winning No. 58 Brumos Porsche Riley Daytona Prototype team at this year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. “We have had great reliability and no troubles. It has been a great move for the series to switch to the Pirelli P Zero tire and we look forward to racing on them again next season.”

The lengthy lap times but shorter overall race distance at Miller will put an emphasis on good team and tire strategies for Saturday’s race. The main strategy decisions may center on whether teams will double-stint their P Zeros – both in the Daytona and in the Acxiom GT classes. Time-saving double-stints are common in endurance races, just as they were during the three events previously run in Utah. However, that may not be the winning ticket in this weekend’s sprint-race format.

“Although Pirelli makes a good tire and this race is shorter than last season, it doesn’t really pay off for us to double stint tires in Utah,” said Law, who runs with personal backing from CDOC and Shock Doctor. “The track is long, with a lot of corners. But the length of the track allows enough time to complete a tire change without losing much track position.”

On the Acxiom GT front, many teams and drivers believe a standard sprint-race tire change rotation will play out. Kevin Roush and his sponsor Wheel Enhancement are returning to the No. 48 Marquis Jet/IPC/Total/Miller Barrett Racing Porsche GT3 and co-driver Bryce Miller after the duo drove in the team’s debut last month at Watkins Glen.

“With this Miller Motorsports Park event being a sprint race for the first time, a more standard tire strategy will likely play out where teams run on two sets of Pirellis, maybe three if it is really hot out there,” Roush said. “The tires have been holding up very well on the rear of the Porsches.”

Most teams can change four tires during a pit stop in less time than it takes to refuel their race cars.

“Since most teams can get a four-tire change accomplished prior to a three-quarters to seven-eighths load of fuel, it make sense to change tires and have the best possible grip going forward,” Roush said. “If we are talking about a shorter fuel stop, changing only a pair or a ’splash and go’ is certainly worth considering, as the Pirellis will easily hold up to the extra rigors brought by additional time.”

Only a pair of 2-¾ hour races remains on the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series schedule. Following the Utah 250 is the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Oct. 10.

Pirelli Tire North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tires for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets as well as markets and distributes tires for motorcycles and motorsports. Located in Rome, Georgia, Pirelli’s Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) employs state-of-the-art technology to manufacture tires for both export and domestic markets. For more information please visit www.us.pirelli.com.

Additional Agreement Signed with Italian Environment Ministry and Municipality of Beijing for Distribution of Particulate Filters in the Chinese Capital City

Beijing, 15 September 2009 – The Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China, and the Pirelli Group signed a protocol agreement for distribution of technologies for reduction of diesel vehicle emissions in China. The signing took place today in Beijing, in the presence of the Italian Minister, Stefania Prestigiacomo, Chinese authorities, and the Chairman of the Pirelli Group, Marco Tronchetti Provera.

The agreement is part of the environmental cooperation program launched by the two ministries in 2000, with implementation of more than 90 cooperation projects for containment of environmental impact through development and distribution of cutting edge Italian technologies.

The agreement foresees collaboration among the three parties in development of projects for distribution of filter systems for reduction of particulate emissions from diesel vehicles already in circulation (‘retrofit’) and introduction of technologies and advanced products, as the Pirelli products have been shown to be following tests and pilot projects already completed.

Technologies for containment of vehicle pollution represent one of the most promising markets in China, given the growing attention that the local institutions are reserving to environmental problems. A joint commitment by the Italian environment ministry and the Chinese environmental protection ministry will focus on the five provinces recently singled out by the Chinese government for adoption of measures to limit circulation of polluting vehicles, among which Shandong (the location of the Pirelli plant) alone counts more than 100 million inhabitants, for distribution of filter systems of Pirelli Eco Technology, as already done in Beijing.

The second protocol agreement signed today by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, the Municipality of Beijing, and Pirelli Eco Technology to support installation of filters on polluting vehicles circulating in Beijing, is part of this commitment. The agreement follows the completion of a pilot project launched in 2008, which brought homologation of the filters produced by the Pirelli Group, thanks to their particular technological characteristics. The city of Beijing has already ordered a significant quantity of  Pirelli Eco Technology filter systems which will be fitted on buses in the capital city.

Pirelli Tire North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tires for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets as well as markets and distributes tires for motorcycles and motorsports. Located in Rome, Georgia, Pirelli’s Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) employs state-of-the-art technology to manufacture tires for both export and domestic markets. For more information please visit www.us.pirelli.com

What was expected to be a very warm weekend – with forecasters fearing a repeat of last year’s blisteringly hot temperatures – turned out to be cooler than expected as overnight rain fell during the three-day event. The downside to the atmosphere-cooling rain was that it washed away most of the rubber on the challenging 2.3 Barber Park circuit. Fortunately, Pirelli provided grip once the circuit turned surprisingly slippery, a situation similar to that encountered last month at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course during the EMCO Gears Classic.

“We didn’t have any tire issues and the Pirellis looked great when they came off the car,” said Fogarty, who drove over 90 minutes in the first half of the race. “There are just so many corners here and you are just leaning on the car so hard, of course you are going to have some wear on the tires, but no problems at all. The balance of the car maintained over the course of the stint. On this track… the Pirellis did their job and we won the race.”

Gurney and Fogarty won a series-leading third race this season and are now tied with Pruett, his teammate Memo Rojas and the No. 01 Ganassi squad with 231 points apiece in both the Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype Team and Driver Championships. The No. 10 SunTrust Ford Dallara of Max Angelelli and Brian Frisselle is third in the championship with 215 points after finishing 14th at Barber.

“The Pirellis were great, especially right at the beginning of a stint when we need to be fast,” said Gurney, who also co-drove with Fogarty to win the 2007 race at Barber. “After the long yellow at the end, for whatever reason, I struggled with Turn 2 and under braking a little bit, but otherwise the tires hung in there and were good enough to win.”

Valiante finished third at Barber in the No. 6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley with co-driver John Pew, who had one of the best performances of the season.

“The Pirellis were fantastic and with the Michael Shank Racing set up on the car it was like a dream came true,” said Pew, who was running fifth in the lead pack when he turned the No. 6 over to Valiante. “The track is normally pretty greasy, but our car was evenly balanced and the tires lasted the whole stint. I could have even gone longer on our opening set of tires but I was trying to pass a GT car and got forced into the grass a little bit. We had grass in the radiator so we decided to come in early for the full stop.”

Lidell and Davis won in GT for the second time this season and once again found the Pirelli P Zeros to their liking.

“We knew from last year we really had to watch our front tires in the heat, but the new Pirelli(s)…did a great job. For my entire stint, the tires stayed underneath me. For the Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R the Pirellis were awesome.”

Four races remain on 2009’s 12-event Grand-Am Rolex Series schedule and next up is the Crown Royal 200 at The Glen on Friday, August 7. The race can be seen in same-day coverage on SPEED at 8 p.m. ET.

Pirelli Tire North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tires for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets as well as markets and distributes tires for motorcycles and motorsports. Located in Rome, Georgia, Pirelli’s Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) employs state-of-the-art technology to manufacture tires for both export and domestic markets. For more information please visit www.us.pirelli.com.

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Media Contacts:
Rafael Navarro, Director Communications & Motorsports
951-533-0305 rafael.navarro@pirelli.com

Joe Severns, Public Relations Manager
706-506-2195 joe.severns@pirelli.com

In a nail-biter, race-winner Max Angelelli and runner-up Alex Gurney waged a side-by-side battle on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course in the final 20 laps of the 70-lap/250 mile sprint that was run in the searing heat and humidity of the Fourth of July afternoon. Although Gurney twice edged the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac Riley past Angelelli’s No. 10 SunTrust Ford Dallara, it was the top Italian sports car star that eventually overcame to score the victory. Angelelli’s .270-of-a-second margin of victory over Gurney was the fifth-closest finish in Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series history.

“This track – with the configuration – this heat – and the time of day the race is run is really something that a tire manufacturer really does not look forward to,” said Angelelli, who co-drove to his first victory with young American teammate Brian Frisselle. “But on the Pirelli side I should say, I am…happy because the tires were really good. Many, many drivers set their fastest laps at the end of their stints, several times, so the tires were good.”

Frisselle won a pair of races on Pirellis last year as a co-driver of the No. 61 AIM Autosport Ford Riley and now has his third career Daytona Prototype victory on P Zeros in the No. 10 SunTrust Ford Dallara.

“The greatest challenge for any tire is this type of heat and the tires stayed underneath our car and we ended up P1,” Frisselle said, “so obviously we had great tires. Our team was asking the most of the tire by running so trimmed out and just by the nature of this track and the heat. We asked the absolute most of the tire and the Pirelli was there.”

SunTrust’s first victory of the year and GAINSCO’s fourth podium in seven races tightened the Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype championship standings. Saturday’s seventh-place finishers Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas and the No. 01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley still lead with 199 points, SunTrust and its drivers have 198 points and the GAINSCO squad has 196 points.

In GT action, Dirk Werner and Leh Keen drove the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche GT3 to its third consecutive victory and fourth win in the last five races. Werner held off Sylvain Tremblay by 1.531 seconds and denied the No. 70 Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 started by Nick Ham its third consecutive Brumos Porsche 250 victory.

“Today, again, the Pirelli was a very good tire for our car,” said Werner, who extended his co-lead in the Rolex Series GT points standings. “It seems like over the last few races we have really kind of figured out how to treat the tire in driving and how to adjust the set up to get a good race car. For us, the Pirelli was a perfect tire today.”

Werner, Keen and the No. 87 team have 221 points atop the GT standings, 29 points ahead of the No. 07 Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R of Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards, which finished ninth in GT in the Brumos Porsche 250.

Five races remain on the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series schedule. Next up is the Porsche 250 presented by Legacy Credit Union at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, July 17 – 19. The Barber race can be seen live on SPEED at 3 p.m. ET, Sunday, July 19th.

Pirelli Tire North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tires for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets as well as markets and distributes tires for motorcycles and motorsports. Located in Rome, Georgia, Pirelli’s Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) employs state-of-the-art technology to manufacture tires for both export and domestic markets. For more information please visit www.us.pirelli.com.

###

Media Contacts:
Rafael Navarro, Director Communications & Motorsports
951-533-0305 rafael.navarro@pirelli.com

Joe Severns, Public Relations Manager
706-506-2195 joe.severns@pirelli.com

While January’s Rolex 24 and the Brumos Porsche 250 are run on the same track, the similarities end there.  This Saturday’s race will be run in the heat of a typical Florida summer afternoon, a challenging environment that takes its toll on the drivers, race cars and the track itself.  The dire conditions also bring out the best in the Pirelli P Zeros.

“It is going to be nasty, hot, slippery and tough,” said Jon Fogarty, who co-drove to victory in the 2007 Brumos Porsche 250 with GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing and teammate Alex Gurney in the team’s No. 99 Pontiac Riley Daytona Prototype.  “The heat will sap energy out of the drivers and the motors, and the tires are going to have there work cut out for them.  I am sure the Pirellis are up to the task, but I am certain that it will be a more difficult track to drive than what we have in January.”

Burt Frisselle co-drives the No. 61 AIM Autosport Ford Riley Daytona Prototype with Mark Wilkins.  He also expects the Pirelli P Zeros to be ready for the grueling Florida conditions this Fourth of July.

“Daytona is a tough track for tires because it requires great traction for the tight hairpins and at the same time requires longevity and stability when running the high banking at over 190 mph,” Frisselle said.  “For 2009, the P Zero is even better for the drivers as it allows us to get the occasional lock up going into Turn 1 and the Bus Stop chicane without the penalty of a big flat spot.  Pirelli’s hard work has shown in the lap times.”

The warm weather conditions could also be a challenge for the teams and drivers in the Grand-Am Rolex Series GT category.  Andy Lally was part of January’s class winning Rolex 24 team in the No. 67 TRG Porsche GT3 and looks for an equally challenging race this weekend.

“The main thing that we will deal with at Daytona this weekend as opposed to the 24 hour race in January is the heat,” Lally said. “We will be focusing mainly on tire life, especially this year because for the first time Grand-Am will run this race in the day time. The infield section will be very tough to put the power down and we will be pushing the Pirellis for all there worth.  We had no real tire issues in the Rolex 24 win and I don’t anticipate any this weekend either.  This allows us to focus on driving.”"

Pirelli Tire North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tires for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets as well as markets and distributes tires for motorcycles and motorsports. Located in Rome, Georgia, Pirelli’s Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) employs state-of-the-art technology to manufacture tires for both export and domestic markets.  For more information please visit www.us.pirelli.com.

Despite having very little information about the eighth round of the World Rally Championship – which was run on gravel stages close to the holiday resort of Mikolajki – there were no problems with punctures or tire wear for any of the leading competitors throughout the three-day event.

Conditions were cooler than expected in Poland, with occasional rain during the event. Nonetheless, despite the humidity the stages remained in good condition even when used a second time. Along with the traction and grip provided by the Pirelli Scorpion rubber, this allowed drivers to reach average speeds of close to 81 mph on some of the stages. Ford’s excellent result with its Pirelli tires has set up a thrilling championship duel with just four rounds of the World Rally Championship left to run.

The new World Rally Championship leader and Rally Poland winner Mikko Hirvonen commented: “Actually, I was surprised by just how much traction and grip there was on the stages. I was definitely expecting worse. Even when I was running first on the road, it wasn’t really a problem for us. We had quite a wide variety of conditions here, but the car and the tires coped very well with all of them. I’ve really enjoyed this rally, and of course it makes the championship quite interesting now.”

Poland was also host to the sixth round of the Junior World Rally Championship. A thrilling battle meant that the two candidates for victory – in an R3 car and a Super 1600 car – started the final day separated by less than a second. In the end, it was Kevin Abbring who triumphed at the wheel of a Pirelli-equipped Renault Clio R3.

Pirelli’s rally manager Mario Isola concluded: “From our point of view it was a perfect rally. All we had to do was supply the teams with the tires, and there were no other problems for us to deal with. The wear rate has been excellent, while providing everyone with plenty of grip, and there have been no punctures despite some tricky conditions. Our soft compound gravel tire – which will be used again in Finland and Britain – is seeing much more use compared to last year, but it has shown itself capable of adapting to a very wide range of different conditions. There was a particularly good fight in the Junior World Rally Championship as well. Unlike the main series, competitors are allowed to cut their tires in the Junior Championship – adding an extra tactical element.”

The next round the World Rally Championship – the legendary Rally Finland – takes place from July 31 to August 2 on fast gravel stages close to Jyvaskyla.

Pirelli Tire SpA – Press Office – Motorsport Communication
Viale Sarca, 222 – 20126 Milano – Italy – phone/fax +39 02 644245407 – www.pirelli.com