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.

24 hours of excitement in store for competitors and race fans as the 47th annual Rolex 24 at Daytona nears

Daytona, Fl January 22, 2009 – Pirelli readies itself for one of the biggest challenges in racing as the tasks of preparing for the 47th Annual 24 Hours of Daytona begin. The Italian tire manufacturer is among the premier international companies, teams and drivers making their way to Daytona International Speedway for the 24 hour endurance race, scheduled for a 3:30PM start on Saturday, January 24.

Pirelli is just one of the blue chip brands heading to Daytona for the season-opening race in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16. In addition to international icons Rolex and Crown Royal, Pirelli will share the stage in the day-long race with globally recognized racing standard-bearers like Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Lola, Dallara and American powerhouses Pontiac, Ford, Riley and Crawford.

Two-time defending Daytona 24 champions Juan Pablo Montoya and Scott Pruett will be joined on this year’s entry list by Scott Dixon, Jimmie Johnson, Dario Franchitti, Danica Patrick, Casey Mears, Buddy Rice, Ryan Briscoe, Kyle Petty and sports car racing champions Andy Wallace, Alex Gurney, Timo Bernhard, Jon Fogarty, Max Angelelli, Romain Dumas, Hurley Haywood, Wayne Taylor, Jorg Bergmeister, Max Papis, Sascha Maassen and many more. Stars from two-wheeled racing and tinsel town are also part of the Rolex 24 mix with motorcycle racing greats Scott Russell, Jeff Ward and Jason Pridmore heading to Daytona in addition to top movie and television actor – and emerging racing talent – Patrick Dempsey, star of Grey’s Anatomy, one of the most successful shows on television.

Despite the different backgrounds and home cities, states or countries of the competitors, the one unifying factor at Daytona will be the Pirelli P Zero Racing.

Slicks mounted to each Daytona Prototype and GT class race car for the second consecutive year. Pirelli debuted as the Official Tire of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in 2008, and if this year’s tire testing is any indicator, Pirelli will achieve similar record-setting results this season as they did in 2008. Pre-season testing at Daytona revealed that the 2009 Pirelli P Zero Grand-Am Rolex Series tires seems to have all of the competitive characteristics of last year’s inaugural model, and even more durability and lasting performance. All of those attributes come into play in a race as demanding as the Rolex 24 and several top drivers will take to the 3.56-mile Daytona road course knowing that the Pirellis will be with them for the long haul, through both the day and night.

“I am very happy with the Pirelli tires,” said No. 58 Brumos Porsche Riley Daytona Prototype driver Darren Law. “They have been fast, consistent and they wear well, which is especially critical in a 24-hour endurance race. The car performs well with them.”

Law, who set the fastest overall lap time in annual Rolex 24 Daytona Test Days earlier this month, will share the No. 58 Brumos Porsche with primary co-driver David Donohue, Indianapolis 500 winner Rice and Spain’s Antonio Garcia.

“Daytona is always an extreme situation because of cold weather and racing at night; so we need to be careful and take car of our tires – but we will all be in the same boat. To find a tire compound that can handle the cold of Daytona and when it is extremely hot, like at Barber Motorsports Park, isn’t easy but Pirelli did the job. I feel that the future for this season and beyond is good.”

Angelelli and Taylor won the 2005 Rolex 24 At Daytona with SunTrust. The duo will be looking for a repeat win and their first in the No. 10 SunTrust Ford Dallara of Wayne Taylor Racing with Angelelli’s new primary co-driver for this year’s race Brian Frisselle and former Formula 1 driver Pedro Lamy.

“The tires are very consistent and, considering that only one type of tire must fulfill a range of extreme conditions, Pirelli has achieved an exceptional result,” Angelelli said.

“I expect the Pirelli tires to hold up very well for the Rolex 24,” Frisselle said. “So far the tires have been consistent in testing and have been much easier to drive when they are cold. I expect the tires to work great; but as drivers we need to take care of them too.”

Dallaras have won races in a variety of championships around the world, but this year’s Rolex 24 marks the first time one of the Italian company’s Daytona Prototypes will seek a Rolex 24 title. They will be joined by a pair of potent.

Lolas from Krohn Racing that will also be taking a shot at their first Daytona Prototype victory at Daytona. Although each constructor has recorded overall wins in the Rolex 24 in the past, a victory in the ultra-competitive Daytona Prototype era on Pirelli P Zeros would be a stand-alone achievement.

“The Pirelli tires have been performing very consistent and good in testing,” said No. 76 Krohn Racing Ford Lola driver Nic Jonsson, who will co-drive with Darren Turner and former Formula 1 driver Ricardo Zonta. “I do believe Pirelli is giving us a very safe, good and consistent product. That is very important, especially for endurance racing. I am really looking forward to working closely with the Pirelli engineers this year to try to get our Krohn Racing Proto-Auto Lola cars up to the front for the whole season. The first race, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, is going to be very exciting when we run on the new Pirelli tire after all of the positive test miles we have had on the Pirellis up to this point. Pirelli has a lot of track records and wins in the endurance field of motor racing and I’m glad that they have come in to the Grand-Am Rolex Series to supply us with the latest in tire technology and engineering.”

“With Pirelli joining the Rolex Series for the 2008 season, there was a certain excitement brought back into the on-track action,” said Andrew Davis, driver of the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac. “Last year’s tire complemented the Stevenson Motorsports BryanMark Financial Pontiac GXP.R perfectly, and certainly played a significant role in helping us to a strong second place finish in the 2008 GT championship. I am very pleased to see that Pirelli has been working so hard during the off-season to create an even better product for the 2009 season. So far, the initial tests lead me to believe that the new tire will again lend to the close racing that is associated with the Grand-AM Rolex Series.”

Keeping teams and drivers up to speed on that technology and engineering is no small task for a Pirelli at a race as big as the Rolex 24. Thousands of Pirelli P Zero racing slicks and rain tires have already been shipped to Florida and soon they will be joined by an international contingent of Pirelli personnel and support equipment.

“Our efforts this year will include over 100 personnel and 20 trucks of tires and supplies, a veritable convoy of material and activity to support this year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona,” said Gianluca Grioni, Motorsport Manager for Pirelli Tire North America. “The preparations for a race of this length and caliber are demanding from both a logistical and physical standpoint. We take pride in knowing that Pirelli offers teams the best quality tires and service made possible by our 100-plus years of experience in motorsport.”

The Rolex 24 at Daytona will start at 3:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, January 24, with live coverage on FOX beginning at 3 p.m. EST. FOX will broadcast the opening 90 minutes of the race before SPEED takes over for the balance of the broadcast.

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.