Pirelli is reporting that its P Zero Racing Slick and P Zero Racing Rain tires proved to be up for the task amid the blustery and wet weather that gripped Daytona International Speedway this past weekend.
Shadows of a winter storm embraced the “World Center of Racing,” bringing myriad climate conditions for teams and drivers to contend with during the 24-hour race.
The cold, wind and rain that brought sleet, snow and freezing rain to much of the Southeastern U.S. spared Daytona from the worst of the frozen precipitation, but it did envelope the area in a mix of rainy and generally unpleasant weather that presented the race teams with challenging track conditions.
The first race of the 2010 Grand-Am season started Saturday under a caution, and overall 16 yellow flags flew throughout the event, slowing the action for 74 laps.
The challenges at this year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona served as a showcase for the 2010-specification P Zero Racing Slick as it made its debut in series racing, according to Tom Gravalos, vice president of marketing, motorsports and original equipment sales.
“We are incredibly proud of our organization and the products we design, develop and manufacture which bear our name,” says Gravalos.
“Our capability to support and supply at the highest level was made very clear. We are equally proud of the partnership we have with Grand-Am, which is part of the NASCAR family of companies, and the relationship we have with all of the great competitors in the Rolex Sports Car Series,” he points out.
“We began the Rolex 24 At Daytona race week with several announcements about some exciting promotions and competition bonus programs with GRAND-AM that will benefit the competitors and fans alike, and we look forward to a great season.”
Gravalos goes on to say that “Pirelli is so much more than a brand name – it is a family of technicians that take pride in their work and care enough about their product to travel from all points on the globe to be here in Daytona when our new P Zero tire hit the ground in competition for the first time. That kind of support is important – and it is what differentiates Pirelli. Many tire brands that purport to be in the motorsport business cannot manufacture their own racing tires because of the expertise required. However, Pirelli has proven over the past 102 years of Motorsport victories that racing heritage is earned, not bought.”
The overall and Daytona Prototype Rolex 24 victory was won by the new No. 9 Action Express Porsche Riley of Jaoa Barbosa, Terry Borcheller, Ryan Dalziel and Mike Rockenfeller.
It has a Porsche Cayenne-based V8 engine by Lozano Brothers Porting mounted on a Riley chassis. Barbosa held off Scott Pruett for the win, and the car propelled the team to 755 laps averaging 111.930 mph with a best lap time of 1:42.722 seconds.
The competitors raced for 22,500 combined laps and covered 80,100 total miles.
“These tires are the best we have had from Pirelli yet,” says Pruett, who finished second in the overall Daytona Prototype battle with teammates Memo Rojas, Max Papis and Justin Wilson in the No. 01 TELMEX/Target Chip Ganassi Racing BMW Riley.
“The tires are consistent and fast and we were frequently turning our fastest laps at the end of a run, not the beginning,” he continues. I was incredibly impressed with how much they have improved, and the consistency, durability and speed was just great.”
Pruett and rest of the competition started the race in a heavy downpour and he also drove in cold conditions overnight and early Sunday morning.
“The only challenge we all faced was at the beginning and getting going,” Pruett says. “It was cold and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a little ice out there. It felt like it! I started the race in the wet in fifth place and went straight to the front and just took off.”
The GT class win went to the No. 70 Castrol/SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 of Sylvain Tremblay, David Haskell, Nick Ham and Jonathan Bomarito. This was the second Rolex 24 win for the team in three years. Bomarito claimed the checkered flag in 707 laps, with a margin of victory equal to four laps over the closest competitor.
“The relationships we have built with the great teams, drivers and manufacturers of the Grand-Am Rolex Series have really helped us meet and exceed expectations,” says Rafael Navarro III, Pirelli Tire North America’s director of motorsports and media relations. “The Rolex 24 in particular allows our talented and skilled competitors to push our products to the limit in what is really the ultimate proving ground for today’s top high performance Pirelli products,” he adds.
“Pirelli’s new environmentally responsible 2010 specification P Zero’s are HAOF (highly aromatic oil free) and developed by Pirelli Motorsport Research & Development. They are built at Pirelli’s Motorsport’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and were fast, consistent and durable this weekend,” Navarro says
“More than 60 tire technicians and 12 engineers from Pirelli never missed a beat throughout the grueling weekend,” reports motorsports manager Gianluca Grioni. “Our crew gave 100 percent throughout race week, and especially during the rainy and cold nights we experienced before, during and after the race.”
Next up is the March 5-6 Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race can be viewed live on the Speed Channel at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 6.
For more information, visit www.us.pirelli.com.
