Newsroom Pirelli

2012 AMA Supercross with James Stewart

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:45:12 +0100

Pirelli and the JGRMX/Toyota/Yamaha team will continue their technical partnership during the 2012 AMA Supercross World Championship. With a strong line up featuring new signing James “Bubba” Stewart and veteran Davi Millsaps who will both race exclusively on Pirelli Scorpion SX tyres, team owner Coy Gipps was quick to underline its credentials as a serious championship contender. James Stewart, a multiple championship class winner commented, “I was really impressed with the commitment that the guys at Pirelli showed during testing”. “Working with a first class team and organization like Joe Gibbs Racing will allow us to continue the success of the Scorpion SX family of tyres in the USA” said Pirelli North American Off-Road Manager, Josh Whitmire. Davi Millsaps was quick to agree: “Pirelli has been working really hard to develop for us the best possible tyres. 2012 is going to be a great season”. Pirelli has won 56 World Championships to date, making it a leader in off-road tires worldwide. This legacy of success has led to an expertise in engineering and optimum tires. The 2012 AMA Supercross and FIM World Championship Series got underway on the 8^th January at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.

The photographer Mario Sorrenti shoots Swoon

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:43:55 +0100

The 2012 edition of The Cal™ has been entrusted to Mario Sorrenti, the first Italian photographer to contribute to the history of what has become a true cult object. Following Mythology by Karl Lagerfeld we have Swoon, i.e. ecstasy captured by images. Neapolitan by birth and New Yorker by adoption, Sorrenti chose Corsica and the rugged landscape of Murtoli a short distance from Bonifacio for the shooting of the famous Pirelli Calender. The 25 pictures - 18 black and white and 7 colour - are presented in a refined, canvas-lined portfolio, a format that has never been used before. There are twelve stars of this edition: nine models and three actresses. The models are: the Brazilian Isabeli Fontana, the Russian Natasha Poly, the Dutch Saskia de Brauw and Lara Stone, the Americans Joan Small and Guinevere Van Seenus, the Polish Malgosia, the Lithuanian Edita Vilkeviciute and Briton Kate Moss. The actresses are the Ukrainian Milla Jovovich, the Italian Margareth Madè and the Japanese Rinko Kikuchi. «In “Swoon”, I put the bodies in direct contact with nature, which harbours them as if they were its extension, in a set of images where rocks, land, tree trunks, sky and sea are all turned into a backdrop for the bodies», explains Mario Sorrenti, an artist whose fame was built on his extraordinary skill with nudes.

Sustainability, the safe road to the future

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:41:53 +0100

23^rd January 2012: Pirelli recently hosted a conference on sustainability where important political, economic and institutional figures addressed the subject of sustainable manufacturing. The highlight of the event was the signing of an agreement by Marco Tronchetti Provera and the Italian Ministry for the Environment to reduce the impact on the climate arising from Pirelli’s manufacturing activities and the use of its tyres. The agreement confirms the company’s growing commitment to the development of manufacturing systems able to guarantee reduced environmental impact, along with quality and safety for the consumer. Such elements allow the company to increase efficiency continually, providing financial and other benefits, as well as additional competitive leverage in the marketplace. In order to improve the safety of its products for the benefit of people and the environment, each year Pirelli invests 7% of Premium Segment revenues in research and development, one of the highest figures in the tyre sector. At the same time, the environmental impact limitation plan provides for a 15% reduction in CO₂ emissions and more than 50% reduction in water consumption by 2015. “Nowadays - advised Pirelli Chairman, Marco Tronchetti Provera - talking about sustainability means first of all talking about technology that allows constant improvement in our quality of life. Europe cannot compete with emerging countries as regards production costs and internal demand, but undoubtedly one thing that can guarantee its future is to be ahead of the rest in the search for sustainable growth”. Pirelli does not consider social responsibility to be a cost, but an essential condition for the future of businesses whose state-of-the-art technology enables them to develop more responsible and efficient models.

Premium segment triumphs in German tests

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:40:21 +0100

The Pirelli premium segment proves a winner in independent tests carried out in 2011 by the German trade press. Developed by Pirelli using know-how acquired from racing, P Zero^TM obtained the highest marks in tests by Auto Zeitung. The Pirelli tyre was the winner of the test, the reason being: “exceptional performance in the wet, brilliant in the dry. Pirelli P Zero^TM is convincing in all categories and a deserved winner”. P Zero^TMreceives high praise from two other specialist motoring magazines: Sport Auto and Auto Bild. Scorpion Verde^TM is “highly recommended” in tests by Auto Zeitung. The first green high-performance summer tyre designed for SUV and crossover also shines in independent tests by Auto Bild Allrad: “it reduces braking distances under both wet and dry conditions, producing a quiet and balanced ride”. Cinturato P7^TM is the Auto Bild test winner. According to the German magazine the green tyre for medium and premium bracket vehicles guarantees “an excellent ride in both wet and dry conditions. Cinturato P7^TM offers optimum steering precision and an excellent price/performance ratio”. Great results for Cinturato P7^TMcontinue also for GTü with a "Very Recommendable" position and outside Germany with a "Very Recommendable" for L'Argus and a "Test Winner" for the russian magazine Za Rulem. Finally, there is also a “highly recommended” vote for Cinturato P1^TM, the premium solution for city cars and other small-engined vehicles. The verdict is the result of tests by Gute Fahrt that considers Cinturato P1^TM “the best when braking, excellent to drive and in the event of aquaplaning. Recommended”.

WSBK, Presentation of Pirelli Best Lap Awards

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:50:37 +0200

The final round of the 2011 World Superbike Championship (WSBK) was held in Portugal on Sunday 16^th October. And the riders on the Algarve’s Portimão Circuit sent 86,000 fans into raptures. Giorgio Barbier, Pirelli Moto Racing Director, underlines that “The Portimão event ends a highly successful season for Pirelli. May I once again congratulate the new world champions in all classes. In particular Carlos Checa and Fabien Foret, respective winners in the Superbike and Supersport classes of the 2011 Pirelli ”. Throughout 2011, Pirelli has demonstrated a serious, ongoing commitment to WSBK as far as both development and logistics are concerned. “On average, we took”, Barbier specifies, “a total of 5,000 tyres to eachround, about 20,000 of which were used by the riders of the 5 classes over the course of the year.” As this end-of-season synopsis continues, it emerges that around eighty different compounds were provided, more than 35 of which being specifically designed for SBK. Pirelli assigned 8 fitting/removal/balancing teams working alongside each other during each race. “On average”, Barbier continues, “our men fitted/removed 210 tyres per hour with between 7 and 9 trucks being used for each round to carry tyres and equipment”. This year, for the first time Pirelli has decided that the future of this sport needs to be considered by encouraging talented young riders from the national Superstock 600 championships. This has led to the introduction of the Pirelli Superstock 600 Series, a project that has given the most talented riders from the various STK600 European championships the opportunity of receiving a wild card to compete in the European Superstock 600 Championship race held in Portimão. “Of these riders, the three highest placed finishers received a commemorative plaque and a cash prize to help them continue their riding career”, the Pirelli Moto Racing Director advises. And once again, this year’s World Superbike Championship has proven to be an excellent laboratory: “especially in developing state-of-the-art technological solutions that we can eventually pass on to our customers, thus sticking to our age-old slogan: We sell what we race, we race what we sell”, Giorgio Barbier concludes. WSBK is due to make its return in February 2012 with the Australian GP to be held at Phillip Island. PIRELLI_BEST_LAP_AWARD 2011

Pirelli Truck, a Century of Transport

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:50:37 +0200

2011 is an important year for the Pirelli Truck business unit. It is the year in which it celebrates its centenary of truck tyre manufacturing innovation. And on 15^th and 16^th September in Izmit in Turkey it got the official celebrations underway when unveiling new products from the 01 Series before numerous international dealers and journalists. Guests were treated to a photographic exhibition that takes a look at the development of Pirelli tyres from the beginning of the last century right up until today. Specialising not only in tyres for trucks, but also for cars and motorsport, the manufacturing works in Izmit, Turkey has become the natural stage for the anniversary. The exhibition is a sort of journey through time that begins with pictures of haulage vehicles from the early twentieth century: a period of fundamental importance because this is when iron tread bands were replaced by solid rubber tyres. The exhibition continues on through to the present day illustrating truck tyre technology, innovation and development. The anniversary holds great significance for Pirelli because it was 1911 that marked a turning point: the Pirelli car tyre price list (dated 20^th September 1911) specifies the size “1000 x 150 millimetres”, the smallest possible in order to class “Ercole” as a truck tyre. Truck-tyre technology development and manufacturing underwent a drastic change during the Twenties. This was when cord fabric replaced the antiquated square-woven fabric and the straight-side fixing system superseded the beaded edge one. The Sixties represented another milestone for Pirelli with the implementation of radial tyres on heavy vehicles as can be seen in many of the photos on display. The exhibition also tells the story of the work of Pirelli employees in the finishing and vulcanisation departments. But it is from the Eighties up until the present time that the Pirelli truck sector has consolidated its international presence by opening important manufacturing sites in Brazil and Egypt and upgrading the Izmit factory. A constantly unfolding story …