Milan,
17
April
2023
|
14:21
Europe/Amsterdam

PIRELLI KICKS OFF 11TH GT WORLD CHALLENGE SEASON AS SOLE SUPPLIER

ALL THE CLASSES WILL USE THE NEW P ZERO DHF TYRE

Plenty of innovation for the world’s premier GT series this year, starting with new GT3 cars from Ferrari and Porsche.

Two legendary circuits – Monza and the Nürburgring – return to the calendar.

Pirelli’s Matteo Braga: “The GT World Challenge has proved once more that it’s one of the most challenging and rapidly-growing championships in motorsport. Being at the forefront of it all and supporting the many changes this year is a huge technical and logistical motivation for us.”

This year’s Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe gets underway with nine new cars making their debuts, Monza and the Nürburgring returning to the calendar, and a record number  of entries. The 2023 season is Pirelli’s 11th year as exclusive tyre supplier to the most prominent GT championship in the world. This weekend, the first of 10 rounds begins at Monza (from April 20-23) with the new GT2, GT3 and GT4 cars taking to the track for the first time.

WHAT’S NEW FOR 2023
There are several changes for this season announced by series promoter SRO, working closely with Pirelli, with new races and competitors. These include:

  • The new Ferrari 296 GT3 and Porsche 911 GT3 R as well as evolutions to the Lamborghini Huracan and McLaren 720 GT3 models. In other categories, the new BMW M4 GT4 makes its debut along with the McLaren Artura GT4, Mercedes AMG GT2, and Porsche GT2 EVO.
  • Monza and the Nürburgring return to the calendar while the Spa 24 Hours takes place a month earlier than usual (from July 1-2 this year), with a new record of 72 GT3 cars entered for the 75th anniversary event.
  • There are new teams such as Comtoyou Racing (Audi), CLRT (Porsche), Pure Racing (Porsche) and Theeba Motorsport (Mercedes-AMG). Other teams have undergone some important changes, such as WRT that moves from Audi to BMW, and Iron Lynx that swaps Ferrari for Lamborghini.

 

PIRELLI QUOTE
Matteo Braga, circuit activity manager: “The launch of new models from manufacturers – who have often involved us right from the testing and development phases – as well as incoming teams from other series underlines the health of this series, which is capable of attracting new stars and a growing number of fans at every race. This emphasis on innovation, which corresponds perfectly with our own approach to motorsport, requires constant technical, organisational, and logistical updates – with significant benefits for us when it comes to developing new products and technology.”

P Zero DHF: sustainable performance
The new P Zero DHF tyre made its debut last year to replace the DHE and will be used throughout the 2023 GT World Challenge season. The DHF is a brand-new design compared to previous tyres, developed to accompany the non-stop evolution of the latest GT cars while putting a bigger emphasis on sustainability compared to its predecessors. From the earliest stages of development, the DHF’s environmental impact was reduced thanks to extensive use of virtual modelling instead of physical tyre prototypes. Furthermore, the P Zero range for the GT World Challenge and its support categories uses new types of renewable materials that help to reduce environmental footprint.

For Pirelli, the GT World Challenge – as is the case with other motorsport series – is a valuable testbed but also an opportunity to optimise all processes, including those related to sustainability. Pirelli, which already achieved a three-star score in the FIA’s Environmental Accreditation Programme to promote sustainability, aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2030. The company’s motorsport factories currently use only electricity that is 100% from renewable sources.