Geneva, 2 March, 2010 – Pirelli confirms its technology partnership with Lamborghini and presents the world premiere of the new PZero Corsa System at the International Motor Show in Geneva, designed for the new supercar from Sant’Agata Bolognese, the Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera, designed for use on the highest-performing next generation of vehicles. Pirelli’s research department, working to reinforce the characteristics of the newest member of the Lamborghini family, developed tyres that contribute to the reduction of environmental impact, with compounds and solutions that decrease rolling resistance, while at the same time taking performance characteristics to the maximum in terms of both safety and handling. The Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera will use the new PZero Corsa System in the 235/35ZR19 and 295/30ZR19 sizes.

The PZero Corsa System combines the front directional tread design with an asymmetric rear design, to decrease susceptibility to hydroplaning, a typical problem when using tyres derived from semi-slick sports designs. The front PZero Corsa directional maintains the previous tread design, however innovative materials and technology choices have been introduced to help balance the increased sportiness of the new asymmetric rear tyres. The new PZero Corsa Asymmetric includes robust blocks and a full shoulder to maximize the performance on dry, even under the most extreme driving conditions. The inclusion of longitudinal channels also allows for the expulsion of water and decreases susceptibility to hydroplaning, despite the reduced tread depth. The new combination of designs and the use of innovative materials derived from Motorsports, allows the new PZero Corsa System to achieve higher levels of performance both on dry and wet surfaces.

PZero Corsa System is the best handling road tyre in the PZero collection, the line of Ultra High Performance products developed by Pirelli for the most prestigious and high-performance cars. PZero represents a revolution for the tyre industry, and offers drivers performance without precedence in every aspect: handling, comfort, and safety. This tyre from the P Zero Collection, the line of tyres produced by Pirelli, leader in the high end bracket, uses many innovative solutions developed by Pirelli and protected by 5 patents, which protect the tread design, compounds, and the tyre structure. The racing heart of PZero is guaranteed by the tread compounds and by special nano-composites that ensure comfortable driving combined with extreme sports performance. Additionally, the tread design of Pirelli’s new tyre also delivers maximum grip on wet roads and reduces noise. The asymmetric profile DA.Co (Dynamic Asymmetric Contour) gives even wear and tyre-ground contact remains the same at all speeds. Moreover, P Zero is produced with compounds which contain no aromatic oils. Pirelli’s decision on this came three years ahead of the European directive which will enforce this act from 2010.

The now well-established collaboration between Pirelli and Lamborghini is not limited to the development of road tyres, but extends to racing and the main events organised by the car maker. In fact, Pirelli is the sole supplier to the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo and the Lamborghini Track Academy.

In order to generate grip on a surface that is almost impossible to stand on, the rally cars run on Pirelli Sottozero snow tyres equipped with nearly 400 tungsten-tipped studs, which are designed to bite through snow and ice into the firmer surface underneath.

As suits the extreme environment of the World Rally Championship, tungsten is one of the toughest metals known to mankind. It’s got the highest melting point of any element other than carbon (around 3422 degrees Centigrade) and a very high density: about 19 times heavier than water.
This makes it ideally suited to propel rally cars through narrow and twisty snow-covered stages at average speeds that border on 120 kph. An even bigger challenge occurs when the cars pass through the stages a second time as the roads are often swept clean of snow, exposing loose gravel underneath.
Then the studs have to resist direct contact with the ground, which can rip them out completely. Pirelli benefits from a patented process in which the studs are inserted into the tyre at the time that the tyres are actually made, ensuring that most of them remain in place however challenging the conditions.

Although Swedish roads are so slippery that approximately 90 per cent of all new cars sold there come with some form of electronic stability programme, the Pirelli-equipped rally cars still manage to accelerate from 0-100 kph in less than four seconds and brake to zero again in even less time.

This attention to detail and high performance is equally evident in Pirelli’s road tyres, on which the competition tyres are based. The rally tyres also covered 1534 kilometres of road section throughout the three-day event, impressing Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen, who is using Pirelli rubber on his first season in the World Rally Championship with the Citroen Junior Team.

Hirvonen’s victory meant that his season got off to the best possible start, after the Finn suffered the heartbreak of losing out on the drivers’ title by just one point last year. “The tyres were excellent,” said the Ford driver, who eventually won by 42.3 seconds from Citroen’s six-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb. “Even when the stages were cutting up, we still enjoyed a good level of grip, which allowed us to take our first win on Rally Sweden.”

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery concluded: “Although our competition tyres use cutting-edge technology such as tungsten tips, most people do not realise just how closely related they are to our road tyres. World Rally Championship rules mean that our rally tyres are the same size as our road tyres and all the lessons we learn about traction and grip from snowy rallies are put directly to use in the tyres we make for the road. On behalf of everyone at Pirelli I’d like to congratulate Mikko on a fantastic victory, at the start of what is set to be a tremendously exciting World Rally Championship season.”

Montecarlo, 23 January 2010. Pirelli returns to the Montecarlo Rally and takes the No. 1 place on the podium in the most prestigious and reknowned rally in the world, together with the debuting Ford Fiesta Super 2000 driven by Mikko Hirvonen, the only car officially fitted by Pirelli in the event. Leading from start to finish, the car driven by the Finnish star easily overcame the difficulties of the road thanks to its Pirelli Winter Sottozero and PZero tyres which, with their versatility and reliability, adapted to all the different conditions, from the ice in the mountain passes to the dry coastal asphalt.

The winning Hirvonen-Ford-Pirelli trio brought to the Monaco event the experience built up in the world WRC championship, where Milan-based Pirelli has been sole supplier of tyres since 2008.

Finnish-born Hirvonen, the 2009 world WRC vice champion, completed the rally with an overall time of 4h32′58″5, outpacing the Skoda Fabias of his compatriot Juho Hanninen and Frenchman Nicolas Vouilloz, respectively 1’51’’4 and 3’19’’1 behind.

“It was a special return for Pirelli to Monte Carlo”, said Paul Hembery, Pirelli Motorsport Director. “We had only one official entry for the event, but that proved sufficient as it was the winning combination of the debuting Ford Fiesta S2000 together with Ford official works driver Mikko Hirvonen. Our P Zero and Sottozero tyres performed perfectly in the cold, snow and ice conditions of this classic Monte Carlo event. Of course we were also competing against rival tyre manufacturers, but our product technology proved superior with Mikko barely troubled, in the lead from start to finish. We now turn our attention to the first WRC event of the season, in Sweden, where as the official supplier, we will again demonstrate the superior artic performance of the Pirelli Sottozero”.

Loeb came into the Rally Great Britain just one point behind his only title rival, Ford’s Mikko Hirvonen. In the closest finale to the World Rally Championship since 2003, the two drivers fought each other closely over all three days of the gravel event.

Despite this frenetic pace, with both drivers taking significant risks in order to gain an advantage, the performance of their soft compound Pirelli Scorpion tyres was flawless throughout the 348.30 competitive kilometres of the rally. Loeb and Hirvonen, who both experienced running first on the road on different days of the rally, took big cuts to find the quickest lines through the corners while pushing acceleration and braking to the limit.

Their Pirelli Scorpion tyres absorbed the blows perfectly, despite the many sharp rocks that littered the route and soft stages that degraded badly during the second run. Conditions were also extremely variable, as is traditionally the case on Britain’s round of the World Rally Championship. Competitors had to deal with both torrential rain and bright sunshine, in temperatures that varied from eight to 20 degrees Centigrade. This made the roads both rough and slippery, yet the Pirelli Scorpion rubber cut through the mud to provide an excellent level of traction and grip in the adverse conditions.

Loeb commented: “There was no room for error and we did not make any. I’m absolutely delighted to win this world title, which is one of the most rewarding of my career as we had to fight so hard for it. Despite the very tough conditions, the car and the tyres performed perfectly, allowing me to take the fight all the way to the finish without backing off.”

Rally Great Britain was also the final round of the Production Car World Rally Championship, which like the main WRC also uses Pirelli tyres. The production category was won by Norwegian driver Eyvind Brynildsen in a Skoda Fabia S2000, underlining the efficiency of the Pirelli Scorpion soft-compound tyres on a wide variety of different cars.

The 2009 Pirelli Star Driver scheme, which gives five drivers from FIA regional championships the opportunity to compete on six World Rally Championship events, drew to a conclusion in Britain. Czech driver Martin Semerad was the quickest of the Pirelli Star Drivers through the Welsh forests, after Finland’s Jarkko Nikara slipped off the road on day two.

Pirelli’s rally manager Mario Isola concluded: “We have witnessed a very exciting battle for the title and we are delighted that our tyres helped give the two protagonists the opportunity to fight for it until the very end of the season. We would like to congratulate Sebastien Loeb, his co-driver Daniel Elena, and Citroen for claiming their second successive world championships using Pirelli tyres. This has been a very closely-fought season, during which our tyres have impressed all the competitors with both their strength and consistent performance – on asphalt and gravel.”

The 2010 World Rally Championship kicks off in just 16 weeks with the Swedish Rally from February 12-14. Next season is the last year of Pirelli’s current three-year contract with world motorsport’s governing body, the FIA, to supply the World Rally Championship with control tyres. The Italian firm will shortly start work on its tender to renew the deal into the future.

Cardiff, October 22, 2009 – Pirelli places its trust in Scorpion tyres for the Rally of Great Britain, the last stage of the WRC, now having reached its 65th British edition. The rally takes place on the gravel roads around Cardiff, but at a different time of year from usual. This means that instead of the normal heavy rainfall, uneven roads, slippery land, mud and insidious special stages during the Rally GB, this year we may enjoy a dry rally in milder weather conditions. Pirelli will use soft compound Scorpion tyres as part of the key elements in the race to final victory. The materials chosen by Scorpion for development and use in the World Rally are absolutely innovative in terms of resistance, with ‘run flat’ technological solutions that not only reduce the risk of puncture to a minimum, but also allow for special stage completion without excessive delays and without damaging the car’s mechanics and bodywork. The strengthened sidewalls resist cuts and abrasions, whilst the deeper grooves guarantee greater tyre endurance, and the angle of the oblique grooves increases the progressivity during cornering.

The Pirelli Scorpion looks set to be decisive in the fight for WRC world champion title, which currently sees Hirvonen (Ford) and Loeb (Citroen) in lead position, just one point apart, after eleven rallies disputed thus far. The Manufacturers and World Production title have, instead, already been assigned respectively to Citroen, one race ahead of time at the Spanish Rally, and to Armindo Araujo, who raced on board a Ralliart Italy team Mitsubishi Lancer.  The Rally GB will also be the last race of the 2009 Pirelli Star Driver programme.

Mario Isola, Pirelli Rally Manager, said: “I have every confidence in the handling, performance and wear level of Scorpion ‘Soft’ tyres, although, very probably, we will be racing in very different conditions to those of past years. If it is true that the Welsh roads are rather abrasive, and the temperatures forecast significantly higher than those of previous editions, it is also true that the Pirelli Scorpion ‘Soft’ have been tested both by our engineers and by the teams, in both summer and severe conditions, always showing excellent resistance to wear and high performance levels”.

A fourth consecutive one-two finish for Citroen in Spain has also guaranteed the French company its fifth manufacturers’ title, and the second gained on Pirelli tyres.

Two compounds of Pirelli P Zero asphalt tyre were available to teams in Catalunya: the hard compound and the soft compound. With ground temperatures peaking at 33 degrees Centigrade, all the factory crews used the hard compound rubber for the entirety of the rally, despite some overnight rain on Thursday.

Rally Catalunya is the closest that the World Rally Championship comes to circuit racing all year, with smooth asphalt and sweeping bends. In order to take the quickest line possible through corners, the drivers cut them – dragging plenty of sharp stones and loose gravel onto the racing line. Despite this hazard, none of the drivers suffered any problems with punctures. With the Catalunya route entirely unchanged from last year, the Spanish stages were familiar territory for Pirelli, which has an exclusive three-year deal to supply the World Rally Championship with tyres up to the end of the 2010 season.

Citroen driver Dani Sordo claimed an early lead on his home event, but was definitively overhauled by his team-mate Loeb at the end of the second day. The leading duo were frequently separated by just tenths of a second, with Hirvonen claiming third. Although the Finn admitted that he had no answer to the pace of the Citroens, the Pirelli-equipped Ford team was pleased to note that the gap to their French rivals had reduced compared to last year.

After claiming his 53^rd career victory, Loeb said: “I’m delighted that Citroen has taken its fifth manufacturers’ championship and its second with Pirelli: this is the result of great team work not only over this weekend but over the course of the year. Our win here has also improved our situation in the drivers’ championship: it will be winner takes all on the Rally Great Britain in three weeks’ time, so we can all look forward to a great battle.”

With Great Britain being one of Pirelli’s most successful events, both title rivals can anticipate a thrilling fight to the finish on the muddy stages of Wales.

The Rally Catalunya was also the penultimate round of the Pirelli Star Driver scheme, a programme run by the Italian manufacturer in collaboration with world motor sport’s governing body, the FIA. The scheme aims to give five young drivers from different FIA regions the chance to drive on six rounds of the World Rally Championship in identical Group N cars.

Finnish driver Jarkko Nikara was quickest of the Pirelli Star drivers in Spain, finishing fourth in class. Hungary’s Gyorgy Ashenbrenner won the N4 class on Pirelli tyres, while Dutch driver Han Weijs claimed the Junior World Rally Championship category, also on Pirelli rubber.

Pirelli’s Rally Manager Mario Isola concluded: “We have been very pleased with the way that the event has gone for Pirelli. The P Zero has worked really well. The warm weather conditions made the hard compound the right choice for the whole rally. But, what was good news for us was that when we did have some damp conditions – after the overnight rain on Thursday night and Friday morning – the hard tyre still performed really well. The P Zero clearly works well in a very wide window. This victory for Sebastien Loeb makes for a very exciting final event in Wales – and, of course, we have to say congratulations to the whole Citroen team on winning the manufacturers’ championship.”

Milan, 20 September 2009 – Sixteen young drivers, sixteen super-cars fitted with Pirelli tyres, asphalt roads and dusty dirt tracks, enthusiastic spectators and masses of adrenalin. These were the ingredients for the last race in Pirelli Star Driver’s Euro-American selection, the programme promoted by Pirelli and the FIA to identify and support the new generation of world rally drivers. The stars of the shoot-out, held in Freistadt (Austria) on 18 and 19 September, were the two winners: the Sammarinese Alex Raschi, (22) and the Estonian Ott Tanak (21). The two drivers joined the New Zealander Hayden Paddon, who dominated the selection in the Asia-Pacific area, and the Kenyan Peter Horsey, the African champion. One final driver still has to be chosen to complete the quintet of promising youngsters who will race in a number of WRC rallies next year alongside the “old” champions. This will be the Middle East’s promising youngster and the shoot-out will take place at the Dubai Rally, this coming 3-5 December. 

In the Austrian competition, Alex Raschi showed excellent driving style and strong competitive abilities. The driver from San Marino is currently leader of the R3 class in the Italian Rally championship; Ott Tanak is known as one of the most promising drivers in global rallying, the undisputed heir of his fellow countryman and driver Markko Martin. Thanks to the qualities they demonstrated, both drivers will take part in six World Rally Championship races next year, in a Mitsubishi Evo X entered by Ralliart Italy.

The selection featured 14 European and 2 American drivers, who competed in driving tests on asphalt and dirt roads, as well as personal presentation and physical fitness tests, under the watchful eyes of a qualified jury of rally world experts, made up of Paul Hembery (Pirelli Motorsport Director), Timo Joukhi (manager and talent scout), Joao Passos (organizer), Anthony Peacock (rally journalist), Petter Solberg and Markku Alen.

Milan, 16 September 2009 – At the starting blocks for the decisive date in the European selection of the Pirelli Star Driver, the programme organized by Pirelli, in collaboration with the FIA, to promote new Rally drivers. On 18 and 19 September near Freistadt, in Austria, in fact, the European shoot-out of the Pirelli Star Driver 2010 programme will be held, leading to the selection of the young drivers who will have the opportunity next year to take part in six Rally World Championship races. 

During the season, 14 drivers were selected for the two-day event in Freistadt, where they will undergo driving tests on asphalt and gravel roads, personal presentation and physical fitness. They will be assessed by a qualified jury of rally world experts, made up of Paul Hembery (Pirelli Motorsport Director), Timo Joukhi (manager and talent scout), Joao Passos (organizer), Anthony Peacock (rally journalist), Petter Solberg and Markku Alen.

After a tough selection, only two drivers will be proclaimed winners. Together with the New Zealander Hayden Paddon, winner of the selection of the Asia-Pacific area, and the winners of the Africa and Middle East area, who have not been chosen yet, the two Freistadt champions will make up the group of five young Pirelli Star Drivers who will get their chance in the spotlight during the 2010 World Championship.

The drivers chosen for the Freistadt finals are: Valentin Porcisteanu (Romania), 26, Vytautas Svedas (Lithuania), 26, Alex Raschi, (San Marino), 22, Jan Cerny (Czech Rep.), 19, Victor Henriksson (Sweden), 21, Andrea Torlasco (Italy), 25, Marko Jeram (Slovenia), 26, Anders Kjaer (Norway), 23, Brian Lavio (Switzerland), 25, Maris Neiksans (Latvia), 26, Ott Tanak (Estonia), 21, Todor Slavov (Bulgaria), 25, Timo van der Marel (Netherlands), 20, Daniel Wollinger (Austria), 22, Juan Manuel Marchetto (Argentina), 24 and Josè Andres Montalto (Costa Rica), 19.

The French driver was back to his winning ways but was penalized by the judges for an irregularity in the anti-roll bar fitted on the Citroens. So the Finn still has a 5-point lead in the overall championship standings.

With a surprising finish decided by the race judges Rally Australia ended with Hirvonen extending his lead over Loeb who in the field had obtained his fifth victory in the World Rally Championship 2009. The non-conformity of the anti-roll bar fitted on the Citroens of Loeb, Sordo and Ogier decided the final results of the difficult Australian round which was a tough challenge for the teams supported by the Pirelli technicians. Pirelli, the sole tyre supplier of the WRC,  for the occasion supplied Scorpion tyres, the most suitable for gravel tracks. The Citroen drivers were penalized by a minute, overturning the finishing order: Hirvonen (Ford) went from second to first and Latvala (Ford) from 5th to 4th. Now, with only two rallies left, Hirvonen has a 5-point lead over Loeb, while Citroen is still leading the manufacturers’ table with a 13-point lead over Ford.
A nasty surprise for Loeb who hadn’t won since Argentina and who had driven an exemplary race in Australia.

Absent from the World Rally Championship calendar since 2006, Rally Australia moved to New South Wales for the first time this year, more than 3500 kilometres away from its former home in Perth. Consequently the gravel stages were a complete step into the unknown for both the competitors and Pirelli, which has an exclusive three-year deal to supply the World Rally Championship with tyres up to the end of the 2010 season.

Although the Italian tyre firm started the event with very little information about the conditions, Pirelli’s hard compound Scorpion rubber – which was being used for the last time this season – stood up to the task admirably. Among the many challenges faced by the crews were a wide range of weather conditions that varied from heavy rain to bright sunshine, sharp rocks, and changing grip levels.
Despite these varying parameters, the competition was so close that the top three runners were covered by just a tenth of a second heading into the final day: a record for the World Rally Championship.

As well as counting for a round of the Production Car World Rally Championship, which is also supplied by Pirelli, Rally Australia was the venue for the Asia-Pacific selection in next year’s Pirelli Star Driver scheme. This programme aims to give five drivers from FIA regional championships the chance to contest six rounds of the World Rally Championship in identical Group N cars. New Zealander Hayden Paddon, aged 22, was chosen to represent the Asia-Pacific region on the scheme next year thanks to a strong performance that eventually won him the Group N category in Australia. Newly-crowned Junior World Rally Champion Martin Prokop from the Czech Republic won the Production Car World Championship class.

In a region that is well-known for its outstanding natural beauty, environmental concerns are high on the agenda. All Pirelli Scorpion tyres use oil-free compounds, which already conform to future legislation due to come into force next year.

Pirelli’s Rally Manager Mario Isola concluded: “I don’t remember ever seeing a rally that has been this closely contested between title rivals, underlining the durability and equality of our tyres. The Pirelli Scorpion gravel tyres also worked well on the all-asphalt Tweed superspecial stage, which was used no fewer than six times and formed a notable proportion of the competitive action. Despite some sections that were as rough as the classic Mediterranean gravel rallies, we encountered no major problems with punctures – which has set up a thrilling finale to the season.”

The Scorpion tyres chosen by Pirelli were developed to guarantee safety and performance also on insidious gravel tracks

Rally Australia is back on a new route after two years of absence from the WRC calendar, and looks like being one of the most interesting events of the 2009 Championship. Leaving the expanse of red earth of the city of Perth, the new race will be held on the east coast of the Northern Rivers Region of New South Wales. The road surface is mixed gravel track with stones: for the occasion the Pirelli technicians will supply Scorpion in the hard compound variant. This is the version developed by the Italian Group to guarantee maximum performance and versatility on gravel tracks and which responds to the eco-compatibility requirements set by the organizer and the Australian government, which has always been particularly aware of these issues. It should be noted that all Scorpion tyres use aromatic oil free compounds, in advance with respect to the legislation which starting in 2010 will come into force also in Europe.

So, with its new route, Rally Australia has everything it needs to become the ideal “terrain” for Pirelli Scorpion tyres.

The Australian rally will not see the young Pirelli Star Drivers in action, but will instead be the scene of the shoot-out valid for selection of the Pirelli Star Driver 2010 for the Asia Pacific area. There will in fact be ten young talents, from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China and Malaysia, who will fight it out at Kingscliff to win one of the five Mitsubishi Evo Xs with which next year, the winners, will tackle 6 WRC events completely sponsored by Pirelli and the FIA.