15
November
2007
|
10:00
Europe/Amsterdam

New Pirelli grand am tires shine at Daytona test sessions


44 cars present for inaugural Pirelli pre-season test sessions.
Teams find around 2 seconds per lap from new Pirelli PZero rubber.


Daytona Beach, November 15 2007- In glorious sunny weather and track temperatures up at 90°F, the inaugural Pirelli pre-season test sessions for the 2008 Grand Am teams went without problems, marked by highly favourable comments from the drivers and record lap times from the cars. For the 44 cars present Pirelli brought 2400 tyres for the two-day test session.

Starting with the 2008 Daytona 24 Hours race, Pirelli will fit all Daytona Prototype and GT cars in the Rolex Grand Am Series for the next three years. With tyres specifically designed to suit both standard road course circuits and the banking of the Daytona and Miami ovals, Pirelli returns to the North American Motorsport scene as official tire supplier to the largest professional sports cars series in the United States.

Former F1 driver and team owner Eddie Cheever said: "I'm excited to see Pirelli with us in the Grand Am series. The new rubber offers a huge and greater level of grip, consistency and steering feel, which makes each driving stint really exhilarating. I'm very positive about the relationship that is starting with Pirelli PZero and as a former Pirelli driver in the '80s, it's nice to have the Italian tyres back in the US ".

Former FIA-GT champion Gabriele Gardel, testing for the first time the Kodak Doran Racing Ford in Daytona, underlined that "the Grand Am atmosphere is amazing and absolutely exciting. Driving a Daytona Prototype gives me a great feeling and with the Pirelli tyres I felt really secure from the first laps with a car I never drove before. I'm looking forward to driving in Daytona on the Italian rubber next January again ".