Pirelli One-Two on Grid for 12-Hour Race

The new partnership between Aston Martin and Pirelli got off to the best possible start in qualifying for the 54th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the opening round of the 2006 American Le Mans Series. In typical Floridian hot afternoon conditions, the two Astons scorched around the track to take first and second grid positions ahead of the two factory Corvettes. Pedro Lamy in car #009 set a new GT1 class qualifying lap record of 1.55.286.

Also impressive were the two Pirelli-shod Panoz Esperantes, now prepared by the Canadian Multimatic team, running in GT2 class. At the end of qualifying, they were first and third in class. Here too, Pirelli gained a new class qualifying record with pole sitter David Brabham registering the fastest lap at 2.03.563 in the #50 Panoz.

Now the challenge is to repeat the performance in race conditions at the weekend. Commented Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s Director of Motorsport, “It will surely be a long 12 hours and a fierce battle in both classes. We have done the necessary testing to ensure the longevity of our tires so we are quietly confident. Like everyone else in this great race, we hope to be there at the end celebrating!”