Sustainability Channel

Green performance arrives at Daytona

The first competition for the new P Zero Racing slicks without aromatic oils started at 3.30 pm on Saturday 30 January, when Pirelli’s 2010 racing tyres dominated Daytona with their green performance.

The new slicks, which were tested at the Daytona circuit a month before the race, produced consistency, durability and speed to the full satisfaction of all the teams which, for the third successive year, were fitted exclusively with Pirelli.

The new P Zero Racing rain tyres also took on the 48^th Daytona 24 Hours with renewed bite on a track made exceptionally challenging and demanding by freezing rain, winds and storms that alternated with dry spells and less cold temperatures.

“We are incredibly proud of our organisation and the products we design, develop and manufacture”, said Tom Gravalos, vice-president of marketing, motorsports and original equipment sales at Pirelli Tire North America. “Our capability to support and supply our racing tyres at the highest level was made very clear today. Many tyre brands that purport to be in the motor sport business cannot manufacture their own racing tyres because of the expertise required. However, Pirelli motor sport has proved over the last 102 years of victories that a racing heritage is earned not bought”.

The winner of the Daytona Prototype Rolex 24 was car number 9, the Action Express Porsche Riley driven by Jaoa Barbosa, Terry Borcheller, Ryan Dalziel and Mike Rockenfeller. They covered 755 laps at an average speed of 111.930 mph (180.10 km/h) and put in a fastest lap of 1 minute 41.722 seconds.

Altogether, competitors in the 2010 Daytona race covered 22,500 laps for a total of 80,100 miles (128,880.9 kilometres) exclusively on Pirelli tyres.

The next Grand-Am event will be the Grand Prix of Miami at the city’s Homestead Speedway circuit on 5 and 6 March, a round in the Rolex Sports Car Series.

Spain: Cinturato P7 tyre of the year

The Cinturato P7, the first ecological tyre for high performance vehicles launched by Pirelli last April, has won the title 2010 Tyre of the Year in Spain. The decision was made by an award jury organised by the magazine Neumáticos y Mecánica Rápida c omposed of specialists, distributors and specialised journalists who elected it the winner, preferring it to another eight candidates made by the most prestigious brands on the market.

“The Cinturato P7 embodies the new spirit of Pirelli”, declared Gian Paolo Gatti Comini, director general of Pirelli Spain and Portugal, who received the award in Madrid on 28 January. “A spirit in which performance and respect for the environment have the same importance, which marks a change in our brand positioning and our way of seeing the business. This award, which for us is a very important recognition of the quality of our product, strengthens our conviction that the direction we have taken the right one”.

EIB and Pirelli: financing agreement for 50 million euros

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Pirelli have signed a financing agreement for EUR 50 million today. The loan will finance an increase in tyre production for cars and light commercial vehicles in Pirelli’s production facility in Slatina, Romania. It will be used within the context of the EUR 250 million in investments previously announced by the Group for its Romanian activities for a three-year period from 2009 to 2011. The new loan consolidates the relationship between Pirelli and the EIB, which in the past participated in the Group’s consistent commitment to innovation and increasing competitiveness globally, in research and development as well as in support of industrial growth.