ALMS Heads West to Northern California

Pirelli-Shod Racers Will Wind and Whine in the Sonoma Wine Country Sonoma, California, July 15, 2004 - Fresh off its adrenalin-charged victory at the New England Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park two weeks ago, the Pirelli-sponsored Risi Competizione Ferrari 360 Modena GTC of Ralf Kelleners and Anthony Lazzaro will be looking for more gold in them thar hills of northern California. Their destination is Infineon Raceway, site of the Grand Prix of Sonoma Presented by the Napa Valley Marriott in Californias Napa and Sonoma wine country, July 16-18. Clint Fields Pirelli-equipped Intersport P2 Lola-Judd, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Mid-Ohio race one week prior to Lime Rock, will require more than the wash and wax job we alluded to following its win in Ohio. Heavily damaged following a crash into the Lime Rock barriers caused by a rear suspension failure, Fields team will be burning the midnight oil repairing the car, but guarantees it will be ready for Sears Point in continuation of its pursuit of the P2 class championship. Joining Field for the Infineon drive will be Scotsman Robin Liddell who co-drove the Intersport Lola-Judd to victory at Mid-Ohio. For the Pirelli-shod ACEMCO Saleen S7R of Borcheller and Mowlem, Lime Rock proved to be a case of closer, but still no first-place cigar. The well prepared and well driven factory Corvettes still dominate the GTS class, but the Saleen drivers followed up their 3 rd place finish at Mid-Ohio with another 3 rd at Lime Rock, and were much closer to the top rungs of the podium than in previous 2004 ALMS events. For Infineon Raceway, Chevy is entering a third factory Vette to be piloted by NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Boris Said, and while Earnhardt spends most of his life turning left, he has proved to be no slouch on a road course. Needless to say, the S7R and the rest of the independent teams in GTS will have to be in top form if they hope to achieve a podium position at Sears Point. For the newcomer Krohn-Barbour Racing team, their hope is that third time out will prove to be a charm. One of their two Pirelli-sponsored Lamborghini Murcielago GT-Rs was a write-off at Mid-Ohio as a result of a tangle with a Porsche in the very first practice session. The remaining Lambo driven by David Brabham and Peter Kox battled to the wire with the ACEMCO Saleen for 3 rd , but wound up 4 th. At Lime Rock the Murcielago could have finished higher than 5 th were it not for the time spent in the pits when the Lamborghini suffered rear suspension damage as the result of being rear ended about an hour into the race. The team will be up to full strength in California as the second Lambo for Tracy Krohn and Scott Maxwell will be back in action at Infineon Raceway. Incidentally, the Dick Barbour half of the Krohn-Barbour duo is the same Barbour whose long list of accomplishments in endurance racing include three consecutive overall or class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1978-1980). During the 1980 season Barbour co-drove Porsches to victory in 14 races, including Sebring, Le Mans, 1000 Kilometers of Nurburgring, Sears Point, Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta. In the process the Barbour team captured the overall IMSA Championship and was the first American team to be awarded the coveted Porsche Cup. The Pirelli-shod Panoz Motor Sports Esperante GT-LM of Gunnar Jeannette and David Saelens made its ALMS debut at Mid-Ohio and shocked the predominantly Porsche 911 GT class by qualifying second and running for the lead until an accident and a broken half shaft put an end to their day. But Lime Rock proved to be a dreary weekend for the Panoz team, which never fully came to grips with Lime Rocks bumpy twists and turns and suffered an early exit from the race because of mechanical failure. Top-Gunner Jeannette promises a complete reversal of their Lime Rock misfortunes for Infineon Raceway so, Porsche teams, watch out! The Tom Weickardt/ Jean-Phillipe Belloc Dodge Viper team also struggled to find speed at Lime Rock. But a chassis setup change right before qualifying and a new set of Pirelli rubber gained them 4 th on the grid in GTS and for the race. The Viper folks believe they can follow-up Lime Rock with an even stronger showing at Infineon. On race day at Lime Rock, Mike Pickup, owner of the Pirelli-shod #60 PK Sport Porsche 911 GT3 RS celebrated the birth of his second baby. But the team was obviously less enthused about their mid-pack placing in GT as drivers Peter Boss and Hugh Plumb [Hugh Go Boss?] chased but never caught a mysterious front-end push (understeer) problem that plagued the Porsche all weekend. Pickup predicts sunnier skies and better results in California . . . but also plenty of diapers. In recent years alone, Pirelli has won: Seven Sports Car Drivers' Championships and Manufacturers' Championships. The " Triple Crown" (Drivers', Manufacturers' and Team Championships) of the inaugural Grand American Road Racing season in 2000 with the Saleen/Allen Speedlab Team. Two-straight World Sports Car Championships for Manufacturers and Drivers with Fermin Velez racing Team Scandias Ferrari 333 SP in 1995 and Wayne Taylor driving Doyle Racings Oldsmobile Riley & Scott Mk III in 1996; while contributing significantly to Ferraris second WSC Championship in 1998 as Taylor and Doyle-Risi Racing won the WSC Team Championship. In fact, this latter car which also won the prototype class at Le Mans and overall at the inaugural Petit Le Mans will be on display in Infineons victory circle this weekend. Four-straight GTS-II Championships for Manufacturers and Drivers, including three straight by Larry Schumacher at the wheel of a Porsche 911 RSR. Pirelli has won the 12 Hours of Sebring race overall several times, including back-to-back victories in 1995 and 1996. It also has numerous class wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring, including three-straight wins in GTS-2 at Sebring from 1995-1997. Following the 1998 season, Pirelli took a hiatus from sports car racing in America until 2002 when it returned to the American Le Mans Series. On the heels (and the P Zero footprints) of its first-ever GT class win in the ALMS, Pirelli is looking for even greater success as the series heads West. The race will be televised live on CBS on July 18 from 3-5 p.m. (EDT). Race fans can also listen to live coverage of the race on the ALMS radio web at www.americanlemans.com. Pirelli Tire North America specializes in the manufacture and marketing of high-performance car, light truck and motorcycle tires and currently has three of its highly advanced MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotized System) modules in operation in a new factory near Atlanta, Georgia, to better serve the American OEM and Replacement markets. For more information, visit the Company's web site at: www.us.pirelli.com.