Pirelli looks to repeat road Atlanta win at Mid-Ohio

Maserati Also Looking Forward to Second-Straight Podium Lexington, Ohio, May 13, 2005 - Last year, Pirelli was accustomed to celebrating P2 podiums on a regular basis as Pirelli-shod teams won seven of nine races and set 7 fastest laps in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), winning the coveted ALMS Tire Manufacturers' Championship. For 2005, however, Pirelli-shod teams were merely hoping to challenge for podiums in the very competitive GT1 and GT2 classes with Maserati and Panoz respectively. That was until Road Atlanta last month, only the second round of the ALMS season, where Maserati scored its first North American podium in nearly 50 years and the Panoz Esperante upset the dominant Porsches for its first GT2 victory ever. In 1957 racing legends Juan Manuel Fangio and Jean Behra won the 12 Hours of Sebring with a Pirelli-shod 450S, Maserati's last victory in the U.S. with a factory car. Forty-eight years later Maserati is back with a factory racing car and re-united with another great racing legend- Pirelli-in its biggest market. Last year, partnered with Pirelli, Maserati sealed its triumphant return to motor racing when its two Maserati MC12s scored two wins, three seconds and one third in the last four races of the FIA GT season. Just last week, Maserati finished 1-2-3 in the FIA GT Championship race at Magny-Cours in France and will take on the Sebring-winning Aston Martins this weekend at Silverstone in England. In North America, Maserati will participate in the entire 2005 ALMS race calendar with one Maserati MC12 supported by Risi Competizioni of Houston. Ferrari/Maserati factory tester Andrea Bertolini and Fabrizio De Simone will drive the car for the entire season. In its first race on North American soil, a fifth-place finish at Sebring proved to be a real challenge with the Italian Trident carrying 50 kilos (115lb) in weight penalty. With a reduction to 30 kilos at Road Atlanta, Maserati achieved a well-earned third-place podium behind the two factory Corvettes. With a further penalty reduction to 10 kilos at Mid-Ohio, everyone is anxious to see how level the playing ground is in GT1. Could be the best race of the day. The Pirelli-shod Panoz Motor Sports Esperante GTLM made its ALMS debut at Mid-Ohio just last year 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 that was the high point to a season of gremlin-filled weekends as the Panoz boys struggled with a car that never reached its true potential during the season. With five months of development under their belts and all-new race cars for the 2005 season, the Panoz team was looking forward to the season with greater expectations. These expectations met with dramatic success at Road Atlanta as Bill Auberlen from Redondo Beach, Calif., first achieved a record-setting pole in qualifying followed by his teammate, Scot Robin Liddell, who held off a major challenge by the #23 AJR Porsche for 90 minutes to claim the team's first victory. It was Auberlen's second class win and Liddell's seventh, but first in GT2. Liddell also set a new lap record during the race. At Mid-Ohio, the Panoz Esperante GTLM #50 will again be piloted by Auberlen and Liddell while the second Panoz entry, #51, will be driven by Canadian Scott Maxwell and Ohionative Bryan Sellers. Rounding out the Pirelli-equipped teams for Road Atlanta will be the #71 Carsport America Viper of team owner Tom Weickardt and young Italian Michele Rugalo in GT1 and the #78 and #79 J3 Racing Porsches in GT2. The American Le Mans Series at Mid-Ohio will get the green flag at 12 noon on Sunday, May 22, and will be nationally televised by CBS-TV beginning at 1:00 PM (EDT). The ALMS Radio Web will have live coverage online at www.americanlemans.com. In addition, all ALMS races will again be televised live in Europe in a television arrangement between the series and MotorsTV, a European television channel dedicated to the world of motorsports. For the third year in a row, all ALMS races will also be covered by the American Forces Network. More information about Pirelli's motorsport activities, including the Pirelli Girls, can be found at www.pirellicompetizioni.com