Marangoni Makes it Four in a Row

Italian tyre manufacturer Marangoni is celebrating an unprecedented fourth year of motorsport success after Simone Faggioli won the Italian Hillclimb Championship for a third time with his Zeta Linea Racing-shod, Facetti-tuned Honda-powered Osella PA21S. This adds to the Florentine driver’s incredible record of winning the 2004 and 2006 Italian Hillclimb Championship and a European 2005 title.

The hard-fought 2007 Championship saw some outstanding drives from Faggioli in his bid to retain his title. The longest Championship round, the 17 kilometre Trento Bondone hill, saw mechanical gremlins preventing overall honours at this event but a class win for Faggioli, from strong running team-mate Christian Merli (2nd), with fellow team members David Baldi (4th) and Guilo Regosa (6th). With each of these drivers running Marangoni tyres it was without a doubt a pleasing performance for the tyremaker.

Simone opted out of the Coppa Bruno Carotti climb to manage Team Faggioli, but returned to the cockpit for the 9th Cronscalata del Reventino to record an outright victory. The 46th Coppa Paolino Teodori saw an accident for the Osella and Faggioli slipping to second place in the standings. Heroic efforts by the team to rebuild the car were rewarded with a dominant performance in the 45th Cronoscalata Svolte di Popoli and further victories in the 25th Pedavena/Croce d’Aune and 53rd Coppa Nissena to clinch the Championship.

Said a delighted Simone Faggioli, “the tyres I use are extremely effective and give me a great sense of confidence, above all when very demanding performance is required.” In winning the 2007 Italian Hillclimb Championship with Zeta Linea racing tyres, Marangoni continues its record of domination with radial tyre technology, an area formerly the preserve of conventional tyres.

As part of Marangoni’s strongest-ever motorsport offensive in 2007, two further championships were supported. The Marangoni Osella Junior Trophy, inaugurated in 2006 as a proving series for young Italian competition drivers, continued for 2007. The control tyre for the series of hillclimbs remained the racing version of the Marangoni Zeta Linea in both wet and dry compounds, and it has already been confirmed for 2008.

The 2007 Nissan 350Z Challenge, the brand new Italian one-make championship, saw a 14-race series for the mighty GT racer. For the series, Marangoni developed a new version of the Zeta Linea Racing tyre, in a new rear size of 245/653 R18, specifically for the 350Z. Fields of 16 cars delivered close and dramatic racing from the high-profile drivers who included be Filippo Fiorani – winner of the final series of the Mazda RX8 Sport Cup, using Marangoni slicks – Natale Catella, Jurg Marquand, Hans Notter, Urs Fluckinger, Alessandro Marangoni, Marcello Giovanni and Ivan Benvenuti. The 2008 Challenge will again see Marangoni Zeta Linea Racing as the control tyre.

Commenting on the huge success of the 2007 competition programme Andrea Vassura, Marangoni (Car Tyre Division) Commercial Director said, “this has been another season of massive achievement for Marangoni, with our third Italian Hillclimb Championship win for Simone Faggioli and his fourth consecutive title. We regard racing as a vital laboratory for our future development, utilising data gathered from our results to ensure our products are at the forefront of both technology and performance. The stunning 2007 competition successes for Zeta Linea Racing tyres will translate directly into future road tyre production. We are already looking forward to 2008 and another season of success.”