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.

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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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

May 26, 2009

PIRELLI SCORPION TIRES POWER LATVALA TO ITALIAN VICTORY

OLBIA, Italy - Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala put the brakes on Sebastien Loeb’s domination of the 2009 World Rally Championship season – claiming his first win of the year after competing in the all-gravel Rally d’Italia-Sardegna: Pirelli’s home event.

Latvala led the rally from start to finish, despite the handicap of being first on the road throughout Saturday and Sunday with the unenviable task of sweeping the course clean for the rest of the drivers. His Ford team-mate Mikko Hirvonen finished second – ahead of third-place driver Solberg and fourth-place driver Sebastien Loeb.  Loeb maintains a comfortable lead in the drivers’ World Rally Championship (WRC), and his Citroen team is leading the manufacturer’s championship in WRC as well.

Conditions on the Rally d’Italia, based in the Sardinian city of Olbia, were dry and warm during all three days of the event with temperatures frequently exceeding 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The roads provided a formidable challenge, with a surface layer of loose and dusty gravel covering a hard base with sharp rocks. The hard-compound Pirelli Scorpion tires used in this event – similar to those that may be chosen for the next round in Greece – proved durable and up to the challenge of Sardinia, contributing to a thrilling battle for supremacy between the two Ford team mates.

Latvala, who became the youngest man to win a round of the World Rally Championship in Sweden last year, said: “It’s been an amazing three days with some really difficult conditions and big rocks; but we’ve had no problems with the tires whatsoever. Being first on the road was a tricky task, but we were able to overcome that and bring home a great result for the team.”

Pirelli’s home event was also the second rally of the Pirelli Star Driver program: a unique initiative to give five drivers from FIA regional championships all over the world the opportunity to compete in six rounds of the World Rally Championship with identical Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X Group N cars. On an event that gave all six young drivers some extremely valuable experience of rough gravel, up-and-coming Finn Jarkko Nikara emerged best-placed of the Pirelli Star Drivers.

In addition, Sardinia – just like the previous WRC event in Argentina –also hosted a round of the Junior World Rally Championship and Production Car

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World Rally Championship, both of which are supplied by Pirelli as part of the Italian manufacturers’ three-year contract with the FIA.

Swedish driver Patrik Sandell claimed his third win of the year in the Production Car category, at the wheel of a Skoda Fabia S2000, while Citroen C2 Super 1600 driver Martin Prokop collected the laurels in the Junior series.

Pirelli’s Rally Manager Mario Isola concluded: “We faced conditions in Sardinia that were even tougher than usual, with several crews being forced out with suspension and damper problems as a result of the constant punishment from the stages. Nonetheless, neither of the leading teams encountered the slightest problem with punctures during the rally, enabling them to start the final day separated by less than 10 seconds.  Even Loeb’s much publicized “puncture” was not a puncture at all, but the outcome of his Citroen hitting a tree and damaging the tire valve. These very rough conditions also taught our five Star Drivers how to blend consistency with their obvious speed, which will serve them well in the future.”

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Pirelli Tyre SpA – Press Office – Motorsport Communication

Viale Sarca, 222 – 20126 Milano – Italy – phone/fax +39 02 644245407 – www.pirelli.com

Pirelli Tyre SpA – Press Office – Motorsport Communication

Viale Sarca, 222 – 20126 Milano – Italy – phone/fax +39 02 644245407 – www.pirelli.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 26, 2009

P ZERO PACES THE PACK AT INDY 500

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Pirelli’s P Zero paced the 93rd running of the Indy 500 motor race this weekend at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Sunday, May 24th, 2009. This year’s race marks fifth time the Chevrolet Camaro has been selected to pace (1967, 1969, 1982, 1993, and 2009), and the 20th race paced by a Chevrolet – and the 44th by a General Motors vehicle.

The Pirelli P Zero legend sets new ultra-high-performance standards and has achieved a level of excellence to complement the world’s most exclusive sports cars – including the new Chevrolet Camaro 20” wheel fitment. A combination of technological features eliminates the previously unavoidable compromises associated with extreme driving: performance and comfort, acceleration and braking, on both road and track, in wet and dry. The Indy Pace Car rides on P245/45ZR20 XL 103Y Pirelli P Zero tires – original equipment on the all-new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro.
“The Chevrolet Camaro first paced the Indianapolis 500 in 1967 with one of the most loved Pace Cars of all times, followed by the 1969 Indy 500 Camaro Pace Car with the hugger orange paint scheme,” said Joie Chitwood, CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Just 40 years after that car made its mark as a Pace Car favorite, we’re pleased to have Camaro return to the streets and to the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to start our Centennial Era.”
Chevrolet’s all-new 2010 Camaro is powered by a 6.2 liter LS3 V8 with 426 horsepower at 5,900 rpm and 420 lb-ft of torque at 4,600 rpm. Power is transmitted through a Tremec six-speed manual transmission, a 3.45 axle ratio and put to the ground by 20” Pirelli P Zero ultra-high-performance tires. Modifications needed to transform the stock Camaro SS into the 2009 Indy Pace Car included a strobe-light system, a custom light bar, and a bold red and silver paint scheme.
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