Pirelli’s high-grip P Zero Racing Slicks are set to take on the legendary smooth tarmac at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.
The Daytona Prototype and GT teams will be challenging a smooth-as-glass racing surface at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Laguna Seca circuit as part of a weekend-long May 16-17 motorsports extravaganza.
Pirelli’s debut effort at last year’s Festival of Speed at the track saw the tires perform well in a hot and action-packed race – and the participants expect an even better performance by the 2009-spec P Zero this weekend, according to company spokesman Rafael Navarro III.
Award-winning automotive designer Chip Foose will be the Grand Marshal at this year’s festivities. The 2 ¾-hour, Round 4 of a 12-event schedule will be broadcast live on the Speed Channel starting at 4 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. PDT) on Sunday, May 17.
In addition to giving the “start your engines” command and presenting the trophies to both the DP and GT classes following the race, Foose will judge Saturday’s Race ‘n Rod National Show on May 16, take part in the Grand-Am autograph session and conduct a fan forum at the Mother’s Waxes and Car Polishes display.
Driver Memo Gidley will be behind the wheel of the No. 77 McDonald’s/Doran Racing Ford Dallara during the competition. “I’ve been really happy with the Pirelli tires,” says Gidley who is in his second season co-driving the car Brad Jaeger.
“For one, it’s great to have a tire with good grip that allows us to attack the corners like the Pirellis do,” Gidley explains. “This especially helps with a track like Laguna where the line is pretty narrow, and where to pass you need confidence that the tire has the grip to move off-line.”
Hoping to continue their upward momentum, Gidley and Jaeger co-drove to a solid fifth-place finish in Round 2 at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in the April Bosch Engineering 250, relying on several long stints between pit stops to ensure the strong result.
“The consistent grip of the (P Zero) tire during long runs has been awesome,” says Gidley who joined Jaeger in matching their top 2008 finish at VIR. “This has made the car more fun to drive for those long runs between stops.”
At last year’s Laguna Seca event, Paul Edwards drove his No. 07 Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R past the No. 70 Castrol/SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 of Sylvain Tremblay in the closing laps of the 2008 Festival of Speed race and took the win with co-driver Kelly Collins.
“We are looking forward to defending our win this weekend,” says Collins, who went on to win the 2008 Series GT Championship with Edwards. “I have been a lead instructor (at Laguna Seca) for Skip Barber for over 20 years and it is my home track; but it is hard to get a real rhythm and set up a car there. It is kind of like a billiard table – a low grip, smooth and flat surface – but we had more longevity and performance from the Pirellis last year than some other tires I have run at Laguna Seca. The Pirellis lasted and we have no reason to think that won’t be the case again this year.”
Edwards notes that the 2009 specification tires keep the power down but also give a bit of an advantage when it comes to stopping the heavy GT race cars under braking.
“We altered our set up and tested quite a bit and it works with the Pirellis,” he continues. “The tires are awesome, and you can really hit that sweet spot with the Pirellis with the right pressures and when you get the temperatures up. They are great, and this year at the first tracks we have run we seem to have improved our braking. The Pirellis are even allowing us to brake later.”
For more information, visit www.us.pirelli.com.
