Pirelli Scoring Positive Results in European And American Gt Racing

Milan, 9 September 2005 - Pirelli's progress in the various Grand Touring car motor racing championships on the circuits of Europe and the USA continues to be extremely positive. From the American Le Mans Series to the FIA-GT Championship and the Le Mans Endurance Series to the Trofeo Maserati, there is certainly no lack of success: Pirelli has won and put up great results in each of them, with a number of completely different cars on tracks of differing characteristics. To begin with, Pirelli P Zero Racing tyres scored a magnificent victory in the international FIA-GT Championship at the end of July. It was in the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the most difficult race of the season, with the Maserati MC12 of Team Vitaphone Racing driven by Van de Poele-Bartels-Scheider. That feat was repeated by the team four weeks later at Oschersleben with the sister car of Fabio Babini, the Pirelli Competizioni test driver. The German event was particularly important to Pirelli , as cars fitted with P Zero s monopolised the first six places in both qualifying and the race itself. At the end of August at Road America 's round in the American Le Mans Series, the MC12 of De Simone-Bertolini took the Pirelli P Zero s to third in the GT1 category and then showed further progress at Mosport last Sunday, when the Maserati set the race's fastest lap. The effectiveness of the Pirelli P Zero is evident, as demonstrated by the pole position obtained by the Ferrari 360 GTC driven by Fabio Babini in the GT2 class and the Ferrari 550 Maranello of Scuderia Italia among the GT1 cars at the 1000 Kilometres of the Nurburgring. However, a mistake by one of Babini's team mate meant the Ferrari 360 GTC of GPC Corse was forced to retire just before the end of the race, while a whole series of mishaps denied victory to the Ferrari 550 of the Scuderia Italia, which has now returned to contention in the chase for the title. Results achieved by the Trofeo Maserati series of races have been extremely positive for Pirelli, especially in the areas of image and competitive spirit. As well as  producing exciting racing, the championship, conceived by the Modena manufacturer, has captured public and media attention, in part due to the presence of famous drivers and internationally known personalities at the wheel of the Pirelli VIP car at a number of races, including those at historic circuits like Monza, Spa and the Nurburgring, For example, great interest was created at the German track by three women drivers (Christina Surer, Kati Droste and Sabine Schmitz) who competed in the Trofeo GranSport on P Zero . Sabine Schmitz, who was paired with Babini, came second and was the highest placed of the three after a lively battle with Alberto Cerrai. Those results obviously augur well for the closing races of each championship. The FIA-GT gets going again on 18 September with a race at Istanbul , while the American Le Mans Series will run the famous Petit Le Mans event at Road Atlanta on 1 October. The following day, Trofeo Maserati competitors will take to the track at Valencia , Spain , while the Le Mans Endurance Series will stage its last race of the season in November at the Turkish track. For more information and pictures on Pirelli's motorsport activities visit www.pirellicompetizioni.com.