Pirelli introduced its 2010 specification P Zero Racing Slick at Daytona International Speedway this week during December tire tests in preparation for January’s Rolex 24 – one of auto racing’s most iconic and legendary events. The two-day test, run December 8-9, gave teams and drivers the opportunity to test the new HAOF (highly aromatic oil-free) racing slicks – Grand-Am’s first foray into Green Performance, and the results were impressive.

Twenty-four cars tested the new tires on the storied 3.56-mile Daytona road circuit, and reaction to the new tires was encouraging. Although official lap times were not released by Grand-Am, unofficially, Max Angelelli was the quickest driver in the Daytona Prototype category in the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Ford Dallara – nearly besting the track record.

“I’m very happy,” said Angelelli. “The new tires for 2010 seem to work really well. They can take so many laps that it’s almost unbelievable.”

Scott Pruett, eight-time American sports car champion, two-time Rolex Series Daytona Prototype Champion and three-time Rolex 24 at Daytona winner was also impressed by the new 2010 specification P Zeros. Pruett tested a BMW-powered No. 01 Riley for TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

“What we’re seeing is phenomenal life,” said Pruett. “This is the biggest jump that I have seen in this sport since I’ve been in it. Consistency looks to be just terrific. We ran almost as fast at the end of the run as we did at the start – that’s what you’re looking for. It looks like what they’ve come up with has been a huge jump forward. We’re not (just) looking at pure speed, but endurance of the tire.”

Michael Shank Racing teammates Oswaldo Negri Jr. and Mark Patterson were also delighted with the performance of the Pirellis on their Ford Rileys. Negri was a consistent front-runner throughout the two days at Daytona sun in the No. 60 MSR machine.

“I’m extremely happy,” said Negri of his Pirelli tires. “The tires are lasting and performing much longer than last year. This tire suits my driving style. I can roll a lot more speed into the corner and have the front end working well. Yesterday my fastest lap time was with tires that had 150 miles on them. Today, my fastest time was with tires that had 170 miles. We are really, really happy.”

Drivers in the GT class echoed their Daytona Prototype counterparts in their praise for the environmentally-friendly Pirelli P Zeros. Robin Liddell unofficially turned in the fastest GT time in the No. 97 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R, and was quick to credit the new Pirellis.

“As usual, it went very, very well,” Liddell said. “We’re going through a shakedown process with our new Camaro and we’ve had no problems. We’ve come to expect good performance and consistency (from Pirelli) and this test is no different. We’re very confident in the product.”

Spencer Pumpelly, driver of the No. 67 TRG Porsche and last year’s GT runner-up in the 24 hour race has confidence in the new P Zero Racing Slicks as well. Pumpelly tested the No. 67 TRG Porsche alongside co-drivers Bobby Labonte, Andy Lally and Tim George Jr.

“The (P Zeros) are much more consistent,” Pumpelly said. “Pirelli has done an excellent job of addressing our needs. Based on what we know so far, it’s great. I can’t wait to get out there and be able to really lean on them.”

Pirelli Motorsport’s return to Daytona for testing this week highlights the intense preparation and development of the new 2010 specification P Zero. The run-up to the manufacturer’s third season as the Official Tire Supplier to Grand-Am’s Rolex Sports Car Series is also the introduction of Green Performance to the racing capital of the world.

“It’s great to be back at Daytona,” said Tom Gravalos, VP of Motorsport, Marketing and O.E. Sales for Pirelli Tire North America. “Our new 2010 spec P Zero Racing Slick has proven to be consistent, durable and very fast this week, and we’ve been able to put many miles on the new eco-friendly tire. As Pirelli increases the percentage of environmentally sustainable products in its line-up from 20% to 40% by 2011, our Motorsport products are leading the way with highly aromatic oil-free (HAOF) compounds – proving that Green Performance is the fastest way ahead. The teams have been very happy with the P Zero’s consistency, durability and speed. We are definitely looking forward to the start of the 2010 Grand-Am season at the Rolex 24 in January. It’s going to be fast!”

The drivers and teams in both Rolex Series classes will get another pre-season opportunity to run their 2010 Pirelli P Zeros at Daytona International Speedway on the weekend of January 8-10 for the annual “Roar Before the Rolex 24” three-day test. The 2010 Rolex Series season kicks off with the 48th Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 30-31. The green flag drops at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 30 followed by the checkered flag 24 hours later.

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

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series teams are getting back into their racing rhythm this week, successfully testing Pirelli’s P Zero Racing Slicks during a special two-day practice session at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 

For many of the teams, this was their first on-track foray since the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona in January.  22 Grand-Am Rolex Series race teams took advantage of Tuesday and Wednesday’s track time as light rain fell each morning, giving way to sunshine and temperatures approaching 80 degrees in the afternoon.

Once again, Pirelli’s P Zeros have proven themselves track stars, giving drivers the tools needed to be fast and consistent.

No. 59 Brumos Porsche Riley driver Joao Barbosa has built a reputation for getting the most out of his Pirelli racing tires – and once again his P Zeros were there for him on a long run at the Homestead test.

“The Pirellis feel good and we have had no problems at all,” said Barbosa, who finished third in the season-opening Rolex 24 with teammates JC France, Hurley Haywood and Terry Borcheller.  “Even at the higher temperatures down here at Homestead they are running very consistent, very good.  I did one stint for 20 laps straight and I was surprised I had no drop off at all.  The Pirellis were good and knowing the tires are not a problem allows us to focus on other things.”

Even though this week’s test lap times were not recorded, Barbosa’s Brumos Porsche Riley was unofficially among the top Daytona Prototype testers this week. 

On the GT front, a newcomer to the series stole the headlines and was impressed with his first experience in the Rolex Series and with Pirelli P Zero Grand-Am specification racing tires.

Three-time reigning South African V8 Supercar Champion Hennie Groenewald is looking to the Rolex Series for his next career move, and tested the No. 30 Racer’s Edge Mazda RX-8 on the final day of the session after taking turns in both the Battery Tender/Matt Connolly Motorsports Pontiac GTO and Porsche GT-3 on Tuesday.

“What obviously impressed me, and I assume it’s because these guys are running endurance racing, is how long the life of the Pirelli tire is,” said Groenewald, who incredibly turned the unofficial fastest GT lap of the test in the Mazda.  “If you look at the age of the tires we were running on the Pontiac and the lap times we were turning, it was impressive.  The tires we use back home are sprint tires and after three laps there’s not much use in testing them.”

Groenewald is hoping to have a ride for the July Daytona race and also to run the full Rolex Series season next year.

“It was a lot of fun driving each car because they were so different,” Groenewald said. “I really enjoyed all three of them. We had the fastest lap of the test in the Mazda, but that was because I drove with a new set of tires. Tuesday, both cars had old rubber, but I could still run quick laps on the Pirellis despite the number of laps on them.”

Next up on the racing schedule for Pirelli and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series is the Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), April 25.  Following VIR, the Rolex Series is in action the next weekend, May 2, at New Jersey Motorsports Park, before traveling to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the U.S. Sports Car Invitational presented by SPEEDCOM on May 17. All three races will be televised live on SPEED.

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.

P Zeros Set Record Times at 47th Annual Rolex 24 At Daytona

DAYTONA, FL – After what amounted to a 24-hour sprint race, Pirelli P Zero Racing Slick tires met their ultimate challenge at the Rolex 24 At Daytona this weekend with flying colors.  The most exciting Rolex 24 in recent memory, the overall qualifying record was broken by David Donohue in the #58 Brumos Porsche, and four Daytona Prototype racers fought head-to-head for overall victory up to the closing minutes of the race with only seconds separating each.

Winning their first Rolex 24 since 1978 (when Brumos won the race in their #99 Porsche 935), the #58 Brumos Racing Porsche driven by Donohue and co-drivers Darren Law, Buddy Rice and Antonio Garcia defeated the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley driven by Juan Pablo Montoya and his co-drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas by just 0.167 seconds. Donohue battled Montoya in the final laps of the race, overcoming late charges and light contact to edge out the Ganassi car.  Brumos’ victory is also the first overall Porsche win as a manufacturer in the Rolex 24 since 2003 when the #66 The Racer’s Group (TRG) Porsche GT3 RS won the race’s GT Class competition.

“Performance-wise, the tires are performing well,” said Garcia, co-driver of the #58 Brumos Racing Porsche Daytona Prototype car.  “We don’t have problems anywhere, it’s just total grip.”

“They (the tires) have just been incredible,” said J.C. France, driver on the #59 Brumos Porsche that finished 3rd overall. “I can’t say enough about the Pirellis.  The speed has always been phenomenal with them.  We’ve broken track records wherever we’ve gone with the Pirellis. You can’t say enough about the speed with them.”

“The tires have been great,” said Kevin Buckler, owner of the GT Class winning #67 (TRG) Porsche GT3 Cup and the #66 TRG GT3 Cup cars said. “Pirelli has been a stand-up partner and they nailed it; these tires are great, they are good for everybody.  We haven’t had a single problem with tires.  I’m really proud to be associated with these guys.”

Just like the tires, the Pirelli crew was up to the task of providing world-class service.  Not only did the 10,000 tires brought to Daytona International Speedway for the Rolex 24 have to be maintained at a constant temperature during storage and shipment, but 240 tires had to be mounted each hour by the Pirelli crew that included a team of 70 tire technicians and 10 Pirelli tire engineers from all over the world.  Such a fast pace requires a military discipline to activity in the Pirelli tire center in order to get each team the tires it needed to compete in the most grueling race of the 2009 Grand-Am racing season.

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.