15
March
2002
|
10:00
Europe/Amsterdam
Pirelli Returns To U.S. Road Racing At Sebring
The opening round of the 2002 American Le Mans Series
The 12 Hours of Sebring motor race is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Pirelli Tires North America is also celebrating, returning to U.S. road racing at the classic south Florida endurance race after a year's sabbatical.
Pirelli's entry for the oldest sports car race in North America is focused on exclusively GTS and GT customers in 2002.
Pirelli earlier announced a renewed relationship with Saleen and at Sebring this new arrangement will be represented by two front running cars; the #83 Graham Nash Motorsports' Saleen S7R driven by Ian McKellar of England, Thomas Erdos of Brazil and Ron Johnson of Laguna Beach, Calif. and the #26 Konrad Motorsport Saleen S7R driven by Franz Konrad of Germany, Toni Seiler of Switzerland and Terry Borchellar of USA.
Both the Saleens will be running, just for Sebring, restrictions on their engine power plus a weight penalty owing to the fact that insufficient cars have been built to meet the regulations; nonetheless both cars should represent a strong challenge to the factory Corvettes, as well as a stable of Ferrari 550 Maranellos and a nest of Vipers, including the ultra-competitive #46 Pirelli-shod Viper GTS-R of Team Carsport Holland , the front running Pirelli partner in this years FIA GT championship, driven by Mike Hezemans of the Netherlands, Anthony Kumpem of Belgium and Luca Cappellari of Italy.
In a strong GT class at Sebring, Pirelli will field a pair of Ferrari 360 Modenas (#31 and #32) from JMB Racing led by ex F1 driver Andrea Montermini and Andre Garbagnati of Italy and Jon Vannini of the USA.
Two PK Sport Porsche GT3s, running in full Pirelli colours, should also prove to be very competitive. The lead #60 car, with Robin Liddell of England, and Fabio Babini and Giovanni Anapoli, both of Italy, has led the field in early-week testing and is more than capable to beat the two works Porsches.
The race will be televised live nationally in the U.S. on the SPEED Channel beginning at 10:30 a.m. (EST) on Saturday, March 16, and tape delayed on Eurosport at 8 p.m. (Central European Time) on Sunday, March 24. Fans can listen to live coverage of the race on the American Le Mans Series Radio Web at www.AmericanLeMans.com.
The 12 Hours of Sebring motor race is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Pirelli Tires North America is also celebrating, returning to U.S. road racing at the classic south Florida endurance race after a year's sabbatical.
Pirelli's entry for the oldest sports car race in North America is focused on exclusively GTS and GT customers in 2002.
Pirelli earlier announced a renewed relationship with Saleen and at Sebring this new arrangement will be represented by two front running cars; the #83 Graham Nash Motorsports' Saleen S7R driven by Ian McKellar of England, Thomas Erdos of Brazil and Ron Johnson of Laguna Beach, Calif. and the #26 Konrad Motorsport Saleen S7R driven by Franz Konrad of Germany, Toni Seiler of Switzerland and Terry Borchellar of USA.
Both the Saleens will be running, just for Sebring, restrictions on their engine power plus a weight penalty owing to the fact that insufficient cars have been built to meet the regulations; nonetheless both cars should represent a strong challenge to the factory Corvettes, as well as a stable of Ferrari 550 Maranellos and a nest of Vipers, including the ultra-competitive #46 Pirelli-shod Viper GTS-R of Team Carsport Holland , the front running Pirelli partner in this years FIA GT championship, driven by Mike Hezemans of the Netherlands, Anthony Kumpem of Belgium and Luca Cappellari of Italy.
In a strong GT class at Sebring, Pirelli will field a pair of Ferrari 360 Modenas (#31 and #32) from JMB Racing led by ex F1 driver Andrea Montermini and Andre Garbagnati of Italy and Jon Vannini of the USA.
Two PK Sport Porsche GT3s, running in full Pirelli colours, should also prove to be very competitive. The lead #60 car, with Robin Liddell of England, and Fabio Babini and Giovanni Anapoli, both of Italy, has led the field in early-week testing and is more than capable to beat the two works Porsches.
The race will be televised live nationally in the U.S. on the SPEED Channel beginning at 10:30 a.m. (EST) on Saturday, March 16, and tape delayed on Eurosport at 8 p.m. (Central European Time) on Sunday, March 24. Fans can listen to live coverage of the race on the American Le Mans Series Radio Web at www.AmericanLeMans.com.