Pirelli Tyres at Laguna Seca
Recent Podiums Offer Encouragement to GTS and GT Ranks
Monterey, Calif., Sept. 5, 2003 - The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) heads west for the last time this season for the Fry's Electronics Sports Car Championships at Laguna Seca on Sunday, Sept. 7. Celebrating its 96th year of top-level motorsports competition this year, Pirelli is looking to continue its recent trend of podium appearances before returning to the southeast (Miami and Petit Le Mans) for the last two races of the season.
Although Pirelli is focusing primarily on GTS and GT customers during 2003, the " baby" prototype of Essex Racing has been a pleasant surprise this season. Playing the tortoise role in the 675 class, the reliable #18 entry prepared by Tony Dowe and managed by Mike Gue has earned three podiums so far, including a second-place finish at Road America last race. Lead driver Jason Workman will be joined by Scott Bradley (San Jose) at Laguna Seca this weekend.
Pirelli's strong bond with Ferrari includes two World Sports Car championships in 1995 and 1998, as well as winning the inaugural Petit Le Mans overall and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the prototype class in the latter year.
Therefore, Pirelli is thrilled to be supporting the efforts of two outstanding Ferrari teams for the entyre 2003 ALMS season. Ferrari 550 Maranellos have already demonstrated that they are capable of dethroning the Corvettes in the GTS championship this year and Gabriele Rafanelli's Team Olive Garden is hungry to be that team. With a completely revised race car and the focus of Pirelli engineering, drivers Emanuele Naspetti (Italy) and Mimmo Schiattarella (Monaco) look to improve on last year's record of three podium finishes and fourth place in the 2002 ALMS GTS team championship.
After their first podium of the season at Trois-Rivieres, Team Olive Garden finished fourth the past two races and looks for a higher finish this weekend.
Meanwhile, in GT, Miami-based JMB Racing USA, multiple sports car champions in Europe, will have its two Pirelli-shod Ferrari 360 Modenas at Laguna Seca to challenge the dominant Porsches of Alex Job Racing. Ferrari #28 will be driven at Laguna Seca by JMB regulars Stephane Gregoire (Carmel, Indiana) and Eliseo Salazar (Chile) while Steven Earle (Garden Springs, Texas) and Mark Neuhaus (Sun Valley, Idaho) will man the #29 Ferrari.
Also committing to the ALMS for the year is the two-car team of London-based PK Sport with lead driver Robin Liddell (Scotland) joined this weekend by ex-F1 driver Alex Caffi (Monaco) in the #60 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Veteran Vic Rice (San Rafael, Calif.) will compete in
the #61 Porsche with David Warnock (UK). PK Sport finished second in class at last year's 12 Hours of Sebring.
Pirelli will also shod the #71 Carsport America Viper of team owner Tom Weickardt (Whitefish Bay, Wisc.) and experienced Frenchman Jean-Phillippe Belloc that finished fourth in GTS at Sebring.
In addition to these seasoned teams in the ALMS, one of the most exciting events of the
weekend will be the return performance of Hyper Sport's Panoz Esperante GTLM. Built " just down the street" from Road Atlanta, the Panoz Esperante GTLM with the 5.0-liter Elan power plant will be the only American-bred car challenging the likes of the German and Italian thoroughbreds in the ALMS GT class this season. Hyper Sport will debut its new chassis at Laguna Seca this weekend.
The Hyper Sport team that made its debut at Sebring has an interesting background.
Team principals Rick Skelton (Atlanta) and Brad Nyberg (Houston) are graduates of the Panoz GT and Pro Series where they were top competitors for the past two years while Joe Foster, Chief Driving Instructor of the Panoz Driving School, is the team's lead driver.
Founded in 1972, the Pirelli Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of tyres for most cars and light trucks plus cables for telecommunications, electronic data and power transmission. Pirelli tyres are fitted as original equipment to more than 350 different vehicle models, from the world's most powerful supercars to modest gas-, diesel- and electricity-driven city cars.
Pirelli tyre North America specializes in the manufacture and marketing of highperformance car, light truck and motorcycle tyres and currently has three of its highly advanced MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotized System) modules in operation in a new factory in Rome, Georgia, to better serve the American OEM and Replacement markets. For more information, visit the Company's web site at: www.us.pirelli.com.
The race will be nationally televised on NBC Sports from 4-6 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, Sept. 7. Race fans can listen to live coverage of the race on the American Le Mans Series
Radio Web at www.americanlemans.com