PIRELLI READY TO REPEAT RECENT SUCCESS AT THE "SPA 24 HOURS"

After dominating the overall classification in 2005 and 2006, and also triumphing in the most competitive-ever GT2 classes over the last two years, Pirelli is ready for the 2008 Spa 24 Hours with some tried and trusted products. In a 24-hour race anything can happen and the Belgian event is renowned for its unpredictability: especially because of the circuit's notoriously fickle weather conditions...

The young Belgian ace Anthony Kumpen, who drives a Pirelli-equipped Saleen S7-R with Bert Longin, knows Spa-Francorchamps and its many variables extremely well. "Up to now we've had a rather difficult start to the season," he explained. "But a 24-hour race is something else entirely. Raw speed is a little less important, so instead we rely more on a package built on reliability, race strategy and the experience of the driving crew."  These are all important elements that will play a key role in the outcome of the race - particularly when competing on a circuit as variable as Spa-Francorchamps, where there can be bright sunshine on the start-finish straight but torrential rain on another part of the circuit.
The extremely changeable weather conditions form an intrinsic part of the appeal of this marathon event through the forests of the Ardennes. For Kumpen and Longin, who will be joined on this occasion by Mollekens and Bouvy, the clear objective is another podium place in their Saleen-Pirelli, to match the podiums they have claimed with a Corvette during the last two years. For the Italian tyre firm - which dominated the overall classification in 2005 and 2006 and won GT2 both last year (with a BMS-Scuderia Italia Porsche 997 GT3-RSR) and the year before (with the AF Corse Ferrari 430 GTC) - another top result is the firm aim. However, the task this year will be harder than ever thanks to the ever-increasing speed and experience of the opposition.


Dario Marrafuschi, Pirelli's Circuit Racing Manager, commented: "We will be adopting some reasonably conservative choices at Spa, bearing in mind that a long distance race around the clock requires a somewhat different approach to the sprint events that form the other rounds of the FIA GT Championship. So we are going to be using some tried and trusted products, capable of providing a solution for every sort of meteorological condition that we might encounter. At this race, you really have to expect the unexpected. The BMS-Scuderia Italia and Scuderia Ecosse Ferraris, together with the PeKa Racing Saleen, have drivers, personnel, and the necessary know-how to figure amongst the top positions. Thanks to the PZero Racing tyres that we will bring to Belgium, I feel very confident that we will be able to provide them with an extremely competitive package."