MC 12s and P Zeros Score a 1-2 in the Final FIA GT Race
of the 2004 Season

Rome, Georgia, November 16, 2004 - Last weekend, more than
20,000 racing fans journeyed to the Zhuhai International Circuit,
situated in the fast-growing city of the same name, which faces the
Chinese Southern Sea. These Chinese enthusiasts attended the last
round of the FIA GT 2004 Championship, and they witnessed the
Pirelli-shod Maserati MC 12 of Mika Salo and Andrea Bertolini take
the overall win. This was the second victory in four races since
the car made its debut and the first in which the FIA allowed the
all-new Maserati to earn points.
The victory was all the sweeter because the second AF Corse
Maserati MC 12 of Fabrizio de Simone and Johnny Herbert finished
right behind the Salo/Bertolini car, giving the team its first 1-2
finish. Nineteen GT cars started, but, only the Bobbi/Gardel
Ferrari 550 managed to challenge the Maseratis during the
three-hour race..

After the race Mika Salo commented: ” We are very pleased to
have achieved these first points for Maserati. We also want to
thank Pirelli for providing us with great tires that allowed us to
carry out a double stint during the first part of the race,
allowing us to earn precious seconds against the Ferrari
550.”
The Maserati MC 12s used a new Pirelli P Zero front tire at Zhuhai.
These tires and the P Zeros run by some of the other competitors
were the model of consistency during the entire weekend. During the
race warm-up, the first six cars were all Pirelli equipped.
It was also a great weekend for Pirelli in the N-GT class. The GPC
Giesse Squadra Corse Ferrari 360 of Christian Pescatori and Jaime
Melo qualified first and took the win over a contingent of very
competitive Porsches.
Pirelli Tire North America specializes in the manufacture and
marketing of high performance car, light truck and motorcycle tires
and currently has three of its highly advanced MIRS (Modular
Integrated Robotized System) modules in operation in a new factory
near Atlanta, Georgia, to better serve the American OEM and
Replacement markets. For more information visit the companys
web site at www.us.pirelli.com.