Pirelli at 2004 Sebring

Pirelli at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring A 50-Year Tradition of Racing and Winning Sebring, FL, March 17, 2004 - Pirelli's performance at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the oldest and most prestigious sports car endurance race in America, dates back 50 years to 1954 when Stirling Moss, now Sir Stirling Moss, and co-driver, Bill Lloyd, recorded what is possibly the greatest upset in endurance racing history. Moss and Lloyd drove the diminutive 1500-cc, Briggs Cunningham-owned, Pirelli-shod OSCA MT4 to victory over a horde of much more powerful sports cars, including four of the dominating Lancia D-24s and a variety of Ferraris, Jaguars and Aston Martins. Three years later the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio and co-driver Jean Behra took a Maserati 450S to the overall win on Pirellis. As the decade of the '50s was winding down, Pirelli took a hiatus from sports car racing in America until 1995. That year the Italian tyre manufacturer scored a victory at Sebring with Fermin Velez/Andy Evans/Eric Van de Poele in the Team Scandia Ferrari 333 SP and repeated that feat in 1996 with Wayne Taylor/Eric Van de Poele/Jim Pace in a Riley & Scott Oldsmobile R& S MK III winning overall. Equally impressive were Pirelli's three-straight wins in GTS-2 at Sebring from 1995-1997. This year, not only would Pirelli like to repeat its victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring, but also it would like to add to its U.S. trophy case, which already includes two WSC crowns, one GTS-1 title and four GTS-2 championships. As Pirelli moved into the new millennium, the company has focused most of its American sports car efforts on the GT and GTS categories, although it has also supported a few of the lower-power, lighter-weight P675 "baby" prototypes in the American Le Mans Series. Pirelli has "reinvented" itself in the North American marketplace during the last two years with primary emphasis placed on rebuilding the brand, building a state-of-the-art MIRS tyre factory in Rome, Georgia, developing a wide range of new products specifically for North America and growing its Original Equipment fitments particularly with domestic automakers. While Pirelli has enjoyed enormous success in the international racing and rallying arenas the past few years, in North America the company's racing activities have had a rather low profile -- until this year. Pirelli is back. And back in force. With new innovative racing tyres and an impressive list of teams and drivers for this 52nd running of the 12 Hours of Sebring. Last year in the ALMS Pirelli-shod teams scored a number of podium finishes in GT, GTS and P675, but no team was strong enough to capture a class championship. Starting with Sebring, Pirelli is out to change all that for 2004 with the return of its most competitive team from last year and the addition of several new teams this season. ACEMCO Motorsports, which fielded a Ferrari 360 Modena in GT last year, has moved up to GTS this season with s Saleen S7R for Terry Borcheller and Johnny Mowlem. At Sebring the Borcheller/Mowlem dynamic duo will be joined by David Brabham to create a terrific trio. Borcheller and Mowlem are no strangers to the S7R, which captured eight different sports car championships in 2001 and 2002, including the GTS Drivers' Championship for Borcheller in 2001. And Brabham was part of the 2003 Prodrive Ferrari effort that nearly unseated the Corvettes as GTS champions last year. New to the ALMS this season are the two Pirelli-shod GTS Ferrari 575 GTCs of Barron Connor Racing. Sharing the #25 Ferrari at Sebring will be Danny Sullivan (yes, that Danny Sullivan), John Bosch and Thomas Biagi, who co-drove with Matteo Bobbi to the FIA GT Championship last year. The second 575 GTC will be piloted by Ange Badre, Jean-Denis Deletraz and Mike Hezemans. Pirelli will also fit the Carsport America Viper of team owner Tom Weickardt that finished fourth in GTS at Sebring in 2003. This year experienced Frenchmen Jean-Phillippe Belloc, Kevin Allen and Weickardt will share the Viper GTS-R ride, hoping to improve on last year's Sebring result. Last year the Risi Competizione Ferrari 360 GT Modena of Ralf Kelleners and Anthony Lazzaro "podiumed" in six of the nine ALMS events and this year the dynamic duo have a brand new Ferrari 360 GTC and new set of Pirelli shoes to challenge the dominant Porsches. Kelleners and Lazzaro will be joined at Sebring by 2003 FIA GT Champion Matteo Bobbi. The two-car team of London-based PK Sport showed promise throughout the 2003 ALMS season in GT, and with Robin Liddell and ex-F1 driver Alex Caffi again anchoring this year's efforts, the successes they achieved during the second half of the 2003 season in PK's Porsche 911 GT3 RSs should multiply this year. Last year, Jason Workman, lead driver for Essex Racing, took the reliable P675 Lola B2K/40/Nissan prepared by Tony Dowe to five podium finishes. For Sebring, Workman and Dowe have joined the American Spirit Racing team, which will have two Lola Nissans this year. Workman, Bobby Sak and Scott Bradley are in one car; Mike Borkowski, Ian James and John Macaluso will share the other Lola. Another new P2 prototype team joining the Pirelli parade is Clint Field's Intersport Racing Lola B2K/40/Judd. Field will be joined at Sebring by William Binnie and Rick Sutherland. In spite of Pirelli's history of success at Sebring, there is no such thing as a sure bet at this track. Built on the site of a former World War II bomber training airfield, Sebring International Raceway is notorious for being brutal on both car and driver. With its slow corners, bumpy tarmac and concrete surfaces, the 3.7-mile, 17-turn, circuit has always presented a challenge, but even more so these days as the fast prototypes and production-based GT and GTS cars approach nearly 200 mph. Winning Sebring will never be easy. But for Pirelli that is a big part of the challenge... and the reward. Placing well at Sebring is a great kickoff for the racing season in North America. And this year Pirelli is working extremely hard to add to the thousands of wins and world titles it has been garnering internationally for the past 96 years. The 52nd annual 12 Hours of Sebring will get the green flag at 10:30 AM on Saturday, March 20, and will be televised live from flag-to-flag by the Speed Channel. The American Le Mans Series Radio Web will have live coverage online at www.americanlemans.com. In addition, all ALMS races will be televised live in Europe for the first time in 2004, beginning with Sebring, in a new television arrangement between the series and MotorsTV, a European television channel dedicated to the world of motorsports.