Pirelli taking 500 tyres to Silverstone

During the second half of June, Silverstone is going to see a lot of Pirelli rubber laid down; while the Northamptonshire circuit will host Formula One’s British grand prix on 28-30 June, this coming weekend (15-16 June) will see the manufacturer take more than 500 tyres to the home of British motorsport. Pirelli Tyre UK motorsport operations manager Matthew Corby predicts that the triple-header of the Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic, the Pirelli Ferrari Open and the Porsche Club Championship will make for a “flat out” weekend.

“We’re taking two trucks and more than 500 tyres to Silverstone and we’ll be trackside to assist all the Ferrari and Porsche drivers with tyre advice. We supply both Ferrari and Porsche roadcars with Pirelli tyres, and it’s fantastic that we are also working with both manufacturers on the motorsport side too. Our tyres are well suited to Silverstone’s fast, flowing confines but it might be worth noting that the winner in all three championships could be decided by who has managed their tyres best.”

In 2013, Pirelli agreed terms to continue its support of the Ferrari Owners’ Club racing series by supplying all three of the club championships with Pirelli tyres. Porsche also uses Pirelli tyres to equip its one-make racing series in the UK.

The Ferrari Open features the latest models of Ferrari, including the 458 Italia, and Pirelli has supplied tyres to the seven-round championship since it began. The one-make series consists of four classes according to age and model, and all race on Pirelli control slicks.

The Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic, however, is aimed at cars built before 1990 including the 328, 308 and Mondial T. Consisting of 14 races at eight venues, it uses Pirelli’s ultra high performance road tyres with 225/45ZR17 P Zero Rosso fitted on the front and 245/40ZR17 P Zero Rosso on the rear.

The Porsche Club Championship is made up of four classes with the overall title going to the highest scoring driver from any class. Races are 25-minutes long and Porsche slicks and wets will be available to more than 30 drivers competing at Silverstone this weekend.