BIRMINGHAM, AL – Pirelli returns to the heat and humidity of Alabama this weekend for the Sunday running of the Porsche 250 presented by Legacy Credit Union at Barber Motorsports Park. The 2 ¾ hour Grand-Am Rolex Series contest is the featured race this weekend, and can be seen live on SPEED at 3 p.m. ET (Noon PT) Sunday, July 19th.

Daytona Prototype and GT competitors first learned how well Pirelli P Zeros perform in excessive hot and humid conditions during last year’s Porsche 250 at Barber. They also had a quick reminder of what it is like to race in the intense heat of the southeastern United States July 4th this season during the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona. Both races were run in the midst of excessive humidity and searing summer afternoon temperatures approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Last year’s Porsche 250 at Barber presented the dual-challenges of high heat and high-grip twists and turns of the ultra-modern Alabama race track – challenges that Pirelli passed with flying colors.

“Conditions were really, really hot,” said Wayne Taylor, after watching Max Angelelli drive the No. 10 SunTrust/Wayne Taylor Racing Ford Dallara to victory at the Porsche 250 at Daytona nearly two weeks ago. “Alex Gurney was all over Max, and he was pushing as hard as he can. But we kept the tires under us, and when we finished we were still lapping very, very quickly at the end. (Pirelli P Zero) tires are the best, and Pirelli needs to be in Grand-Am forever.”

Taylor was a proponent of Pirelli since before they entered the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series as its official tire supplier last year. As a champion driver and now team owner, Taylor is quick to point out that it is ultimately the teams and drivers that need to work hard to get the most out of the Pirelli P Zeros.

“I have always felt good about Pirelli and I knew they were going to be a great partner for Grand-Am,” Taylor said. “They make a good tire, and it is up to the teams to manage the tire with proper pressures and so forth. Daytona proved, in extreme conditions, what the Pirellis can do, and nobody should question the performance of these tires. I am one of Pirelli’s biggest supporters and will continue to be.”

Dirk Werner has won the last three consecutive GT class races and a total of four this year with teammate Leh Keen in the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche GT3. Daytona was just as tough on him and his equipment as any of the Grand-Am Rolex Series competitors, but he was also quick to point out the role driver and teams have in preserving their equipment in severe conditions.

“Tire management is very important,” said Werner, who shares a 29-point lead with Keen in the GT standings. “You can feel the heat… and you really have to handle and manage your tires – but it is the same for everybody and Pirelli gives us a good tire.”

Another Porsche GT team also proved at Daytona how well Pirelli P Zeros perform in even unforeseen extreme conditions. The No. 68 Cohen Financial/TRG Porsche GT3 of Scott Schroeder and Josemanuel Gutierrez was trouble-free early in the race before a pit stop.

“During the pit stop, about an hour into the race, Josemanuel got out after a good stint, but the left rear wheel got struck,” Schroeder said. “We did the full race with the same left tire.  Even with that problem, we were still able to hold off some guys behind us and had our best finish of the year.  Pirelli makes a good tire and I think we did some serious endurance testing for them today in the 95-degree heat!”

Schroeder – who set the No. 68’s fastest race lap just 12 laps from the finish – and Gutierrez scored a season-best finish of seventh in the GT class. 

Sunday’s Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park will be run on the 2.3 mile, 16-turn road course and is the eighth race of the 2009 season. Tickets and detailed race weekend information is available at www.grand-am.com.

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

The Independence Day running of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway was the second race at the storied track this season. However, unlike the mild January temperatures of the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, Saturday’s July 4th race was run in the extreme heat and humidity indicative of the deep-south during the dog days of summer – testing the limits of the P Zero Racing Slicks and challenging race teams to overcome the super-high track temperatures.

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

Pirelli Tire North America is readying itself for whatever Mother Nature may bring to bear at this weekend’s EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Even as last year’s torrential downpours at Mid-Ohio – or the rain last month at a similarly challenging race at New Jersey Motorsports Park –are still fresh on the minds of some teams, forecasters are predicting great weather in central Ohio for this weekend’s event.

Saturday’s EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington is Round 6 of the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season. Daytona Prototype and GT race teams will take to the 2.258-mile Buckeye road course for the twilight race.

The race starts just after 5 p.m. ET this Saturday, June 20, for a 2 ¾ hour timed sprint. Live coverage of the race will be broadcast on SPEED starting at 5 p.m. ET.

Rain or shine, teams and drivers in both the Daytona Prototype and GT divisions know they can count on Pirelli P Zeros this weekend.

“I think historically Pirelli has a very good rain tire for everything from go karts up to the big classes,” said Nic Jonsson, who co-drove to victory in the rain in New Jersey with teammate Ricardo Zonta in the No. 76 Krohn Racing Ford Lola. “I have been racing on Pirelli tires from back in my days of racing in Europe. We never had any problems. They seem to be very consistent and a very reliable rain tire. I feel confident and good about the Pirelli rain tires.”

Jonsson’s confidence doesn’t end with the P Zero rain tires. He believes Pirelli racing slicks are up to the job at Mid-Ohio as well.

“Mid-Ohio is one of the higher grip tracks we go to,” Jonsson said. “I think it is one of the tracks you can run very long on one set of tires without losing too much lap time. I think the Pirelli will be a very good tire for the Mid-Ohio race.”

Zonta is also feeling good about Pirelli heading to Mid-Ohio.

“I enjoy the close racing and atmosphere in Grand-Am competition,” Zonta said. “I think we can do well there with the Lola because the Pirelli tires should work well with our car to give us good grip. I am looking forward to getting in the car again, and who knows… it might rain!”

On the GT front, the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R of Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis finished second in last year’s rainy Mid-Ohio race with Liddell pressuring the winning Farnbacher Loles Porsche of Leh Keen to the finish. Rain or shine, he knows Pirelli will be ready for Mid-Ohio.

“I am sure, as always, the tires will perform very well,” said Liddell, who won with Davis earlier this year in Round 2 at Virginia International Raceway. “We know that the development they have done over the winter on the P Zeros has been really beneficial to all of the cars in the GT class.”

Last year’s rain race at Mid-Ohio is also still fresh in Lidell’s mind.

“Last year it was a tough race at the end because the track dried very quickly, we were all on (racing rain tires), and it was just a question of whose wets were deteriorating quicker in those drying conditions,” Liddell said. “We were very close to winning, but ultimately we settled for second in that situation. I expect we will have a good car there and we actually learned a lot there last year when we stayed on for the Monday test. We had a tricky car handling wise all weekend but the tires performed well. We are looking to start with a better car there this year, so we are pretty upbeat about it and I think we should have a good result at Mid-Ohio.”

A special Monday test open to all Grand-Am Rolex Series teams will be held again this year at Mid-Ohio following the EMCO weekend.

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.

###

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