Spain's Ricardo Tormo track in Valencia is hosting the debut of
Pirelli’s new Formula One P Zero tires, of which four dry
editions and two wet models will be offered throughout the 2011
season.
The Valencia test will finish Feb. 3, with the racers
subsequently heading for the first Grand Prix of the year in
Bahrain on March 13 after participating in two other
tests.
During the three-day Valencia test, each of the 12 teams will
receive a maximum allocation of 30 sets of tires. The crews can
choose how many sets of each compound they wish to review,
depending on their individual development strategies.
Pirelli’s F1 squad in Valencia, comprised of 50 people, means
that each team will have its own allocated Pirelli engineer
tasked with passing on technical information and working
together to help set up the car.
“We arrived in Valencia with all our compounds defined and ready
to offer the teams different tire solutions, having enjoyed an
intense and fruitful collaboration so far,” says Paul Hembery,
Pirelli’s motorsports director.
“This test will provide us with some useful feedback and a
valuable taste of the season to come,” he explains.
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“Valencia will be a very significant test, as it will allow us
to experience a situation that is very similar to real race
conditions, although the ambient conditions aren’t
representative of the rest of the year, and also give us a good
idea of how to work together in future,” says Hembery.
“The objective of this test is to give all the teams the
opportunity to become better acquainted with the tires that we
will supply to them this season, before they end their
development programs prior to the first Grand Prix of the year
in Bahrain.”
The Ricardo Tormo track was built in 1999 and is used mostly for
motorbike racing; the Formula One Grand Prix of Europe is held
on a street circuit in the city center.
For more information, visit www.us.pirelli.com.
