Loutraki, June 14, 2009 – BP Ford Abu Dhabi driver Mikko Hirvonen turned in a faultless drive on his Pirelli tires to collect his first win of the season on the Acropolis Rally of Greece, which ended in Loutraki this afternoon.

This seventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship is always a true test of man, machine and the tires beneath them– and this year’s Acropolis was an absolute classic from that perspective. Moving away from its Athens base for the first time since 2005, the shift west to Loutraki allowed the organizers to bring back classic Greek stages like Bauxites and Drossohori – and these infamous roads proved to be the biggest test to date for the Pirelli Scorpion rubber. The tires, supplied to all World Rally Championship competitors, passed through the mind-blowingly rough and achingly hot stages with flying colors.

For the second event in succession, a Ford Focus RS WRC 09 was at the front of the field from the start to finish. For the majority of day one, Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN), winner of the previous round in Italy, was leading. But a mistake on the final stage of the day dropped the Finn three minutes and left his countryman and team-mate Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) leading into Saturday.

Hirvonen’s job of staying out front was made easier when the Citroen Total World Rally Team pair Sebastien Loeb (F) and Dani Sordo (ES) his trouble on Saturday morning. Loeb crashed his C4 WRC out of contention on Saturday’s opener, while Sordo departed two stages later after breaking a wheel. Citroen Junior Team driver and reigning Junior World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier (F) collected a career-best second overall behind Hirvonen, while Latvala recovered to third, ensuring Ford would close the gap on its French rival at the top of the FIA WRC Manufacturers’ Championship.

As usual, Greece provided an incredible test for all involved, with the temperatures in stages regularly topping 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and the second run of stages being among the roughest the drivers have ever seen. Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen said the event was among the toughest he’d done, but he added that the Pirelli Scorpion had been perfect for the task in hand.

Hirvonen said: “When Pirelli’s control tire was first announced and we knew the Scorpion would come in only two compounds; there were immediately worries over the hot, rough rallies for the hard tire. It was precisely this kind of event which was the big concern. Last year, I don’t think the tire was truly tested; here, on the Acropolis Rally of Greece, it absolutely was and I have to say it was absolutely perfect. I spent much of the second day looking after my tires to make sure there was plenty of tread left on them, but I didn’t need to. The tires were fantastic and I am the first to admit that I’m surprised. Pirelli’s Scorpion has exceeded my expectations – if you could see what we have driven these things over, it’s incredible.”

The Acropolis Rally of Greece was also a round of the Production Car World Rally Championship, also supplied by Pirelli. After another titanic battle for Group N honors, local driver Lambros Athanassoulas arrived back in Loutraki to spray the champagne and collect the biggest prize of his rallying career to date.

Pirelli’s rally manager Mario Isola said: “There’s no doubt that this has been a massive challenge for all involved. The Acropolis is always hard, but with temperatures being so high and the roads being so hard, this has been a particularly hard event. I’m very pleased to say that of the 1,000-plus Scorpion tires we have supplied on this event, we have had less than 10 punctures. That’s an incredible testament to the work Pirelli has done on producing the most durable high performance rally tires to work in the most extreme of conditions.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 4, 2009

P ZERO RETURNS TO ENDURANCE RACING THIS WEEKEND AT WATKINS GLEN

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Round 5 of the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 begins at Watkins Glen this Saturday for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen – Grand-Am’s first endurance race since January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Coverage of this weekend’s six-hour endurance race on the historic 3.4-mile Watkins Glen International road course will be broadcast live on SPEED in two parts: beginning 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT), Saturday, June 6, continuing again live at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT) until the checkered flag flies.

To meet the challenge of a full field of Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype and GT cars in what basically amounts to an all-out six hour sprint race, Pirelli Tire North America already has in place at Watkins Glen a full complement of P Zero racing tires and ample support personnel and equipment. The massive effort includes 2,200 P Zero racing slicks, 800 P Zero rain tires, seven tire engineers, 20 technicians and seven support trucks.

“I think the Pirelli tire has just been outstanding this year,” said former Daytona Prototype race-winner Michael Valiante – in his first year with the No. 6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley team. “It (P Zero) has been extremely quick and very consistent. There really isn’t anything else I can think that you could possibly ask for out of a tire. They have been excellent.”

Valiante – who finished second at VIR and set the fastest race lap right at the checkered flag at New Jersey Motorsports Park – teams with John Pew, who was part of the winning driver line-up that took the No. 6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley to victory in last year’s season-ending 1000K race at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City, Utah.

At about seven hours in length, the Utah race is similar in strategy and approach to the Sahlen’s Six Hours. That bodes well for Michael Shank Racing as the team’s No. 60 Riley also won at Miller in 2006 with Oswaldo Negri Jr. and Mark Patterson behind the wheel. Both Shank entries have shown well at Watkins Glen in the past and each team is looking for its first win Saturday. Patterson knows that the Pirelli P Zeros will be up to the task.

“The endurance and reliability of the Pirelli product is second to none,” said Patterson, in his fifth season co-driving with Negri. “Drivers need to know they can rely on the tires early in the stint when they are still fresh and the fuel load is at the maximum, and later when the fuel load is lighter and each pass makes or breaks your rankings in the championship. This is crucial in endurance racing when you may opt to not change tires in a tight pit stop window and instead stretch a set of tires to the end of the race.”

While Shank’s Daytona Prototype entries will be seeking their first victories at Watkins Glen this weekend, the GT team that captured its maiden win at the track last year in the Sahlen’s Six Hours will be looking for a repeat Saturday. The No. 69 FXDD/SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 of Emil Assentato, Nick Longhi and Jeff Segal won its first ever race in last year’s six hour classic and the Pirelli P Zeros were there for the trio all the way to the checkered flag. Segal also put the No. 69 Mazda on the GT pole for the first time in that race.

“The Pirellis have always impressed us. Not only with their speed and grip out of the box, but also with their consistency,” said Segal, who joins the team for the endurance races. “Last year at Watkins Glen we were obviously pretty quick and won the pole; but the more important fact was that we were able to lap quickly throughout a stint, even in high temperatures. When we set up the car, our aim is always to have a car that doesn’t fall off at the end of a long hard stint. The Pirelli tires have always complemented this goal very nicely.”

Like Segal, Longhi has experience with Pirellis in the Ferrari Challenge series, and he was also impressed with the Grand-Am P Zeros at The Glen last year.

“Last year, excellent wear from our Pirelli tires was key to our pace at Watkins Glen,” said Longhi, who is Assentato’s full-season teammate. “Our FXDD/SpeedSource Mazda was as fast at the end of a stint as it was at the beginning – and that is a credit to Pirelli’s work as much as to the chassis set-up Marty Kintzi and David Haskell put on the car. SpeedSource, Mazda and Pirelli make for a great combination, and we could not be happier with the contribution Pirelli has made”.

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