Paul Hembery Archives - Page 17 of 18 - Tyrepress

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Pirelli Returns to Single-Seater Racing at Spanish GP

Pirelli is to supply tyres for single-seater racing for the first time since 1991 in the new GP3 Series, which will support Formula One’s Spanish Grand Prix on 7-9 May. The Italian manufacturer says it will use the event to submit a tender to supply Formula One from next season. Pirelli will be the sole supplier for GP3, which the manufacturer says has been pitched as “a stepping-stone to GP2, a direct feeder category to Formula One”. The supply agreement is the most clear indication of Pirelli’s intentions for the Formula One tyre supply slot due to be vacated by Bridgestone at the end of the 2010 season.

7th May 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Shod Hirvonen Ford Takes Monte Carlo Rally Honours

Pirelli celebrated a first place finish at the weekend’s Monte Carlo Rally with partner Ford and driver Mikko Hirvonen following a successful debut of the Ford Fiesta Super 2000, the only car officially fitted by Pirelli in the event. Leading from the start, Pirelli says the Finnish rally star was able to easily overcome the challenges of changing road conditions in his Ford Fiesta Super 2000 thanks to the Winter Sottozero and P Zero tyres it was fitted with – tyres capable of adapting to all the conditions encountered, from the ice in the mountain passes to the dry coastal asphalt.

25th January 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Casts Doubt on Future WRC Support

Bridgestone has announced its discontinuation of Formula One tyre supply, and it appears Pirelli is less than certain about its future with the World Rally Championship. According to the autosport.com website, Pirelli’s director of motorsport Paul Hembery has admitted there are no guarantees company will bid for a second term as WRC control tyre supplier following the current deal’s expiry at the end of 2010.

4th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Geared Up For 2009 WRC

The 2009 World Rally Championship kicks off in Ireland and again this year Pirelli, the championship’s exclusive tyre supplier, plays a pivotal role in proceedings. From the season’s opening race, which gets under way on 30th January, Pirelli believes the 2009 WRC will be a series full of technical challenges for both teams and drivers. Mud, snow and ice are just a few of the weather related obstacles the opening rally will hand drivers, making tyre choice a critical factor in the race. The other 11 rounds feature conditions that are no less exciting: from snow in Norway to the dirt roads of Australia and Argentina.

27th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Porsche Wins the 24 Hours of Dubai Endurance Race on Pirelli

Pirelli reports its 2009 motor sport season opened in the best possible way, with the securing of a decisive win in the 24 Hours of Dubai endurance race that took place on the weekend of January 10-11. After 24 hours of racing, the Land Motorsport Porsche 997GT3Cup, driven by Gabriel Abergel, Carsen Tilke, Niclas Kenberich and Andzej Dzikevic led home the other 58 finishers with a winning margin of half a lap.

15th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Poor Conditions Fail to Hamper Pirelli WRC Tyres

Winner of the opening World Rally Championship round for 2008, Jari-Matti Latvala, has voiced high regard for the Pirelli Sottozero tyres he competed on. The Finnish driver, who at the age of 22 became the youngest winner of a WRC event, said he was “pleasantly surprised by the performance and grip from the studded Pirelli tyres, which turned out to be really effective even in the marginal conditions that we found on some of the stages. This is down to the impressive work from all the Pirelli technicians.”

The Swedish Rally was held in less than optimal conditions, with mud and gravel frequently coming through the thin covering layer of snow and ice. This deteriorating road surface led organisers to cancel to of the special stages. Nevertheless, Latvala’s Ford Focus WRC, and its Sottozero tyres, performed beyond expectations – especially as the tyres were not designed for the conditions actually encountered.

12th February 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli’s “Big Weekend” of Motorsport

On January 27 Pirelli faced up to what it has called one of the most challenging weekends in its motorsport history, simultaneously competing in two of racing’s biggest events. As well as the Monte Carlo Rally, won by the Citroen C4 of Loeb and Elena, there was the Daytona 24 Hours – which witnessed the success of Montoya-Franchitti-Pruett-Rojas in the PZero Racing -equipped Lexus-Riley fielded by the Ganassi-Sabates team.

The former McLaren-Mercedes and Williams-BMW F1 driver underlined the extreme toughness of this opening round of the Grand-Am series, to which Pirelli is acting as sole tyre supplier between 2008 and 2010 – as is also the case for the WRC. During the Daytona race the lead changed an incredible 60 times, with 15 different cars and 25 different drivers taking it in turns to head the action in front of a chasing pack that numbered 66 competitors at the start.

30th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Rally Monte Carlo Gets Underway With Pirelli

For Pirelli the start of the 76th Monte Carlo Rally marks an important new chapter in its sporting history. This event will be the first WRC rally in which all the teams will use Pirelli control tyres, as part of an exclusive three-year tyre supply deal. The Italian firm has produced three different types of tyre for the world rally season, one of which is available in two different versions. Pirelli’s choice of tyres has been guided by a strict specification brief from the FIA.

As well as the Pirelli PZero – designed for asphalt rallies – and the Pirelli Scorpion for gravel events, the all-new Pirelli Sottozero will be used on winter events. This tyre is available in a narrow size with longer studs, for heavy snow and ice such as is found in Sweden, and also a wider version with the option of adding short studs – which has been specially designed for the unique conditions of Monte Carlo event.

25th January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli – China is “Pivotal”

In addition to its commitment to the FIA-GT Championship, which kicks off for 2007 at the Zhuhai circuit in Guangdong Province on March 23, Pirelli Competizioni will also take a leading role in an up and coming race series, the Asia SuperCar Challenge (ASCC), a series for GT cars in South-East Asia. Pirelli has entered into an agreement to be the exclusive tyre supplier for all 10 scheduled races held between March and September.

The Italian tyremaker views the agreement signed between Pirelli Competizioni and series organisers, the SuperCar Club Hong Kong Ltd, as confirmation of Pirelli’s focus upon China – including on the sporting front – and the company’s efforts to become firmly established as more than just another international tyremaker operating in China. Therefore, Pirelli point out that the presence of PZero Racing tyres in the ASCC series should not be seen as a surprise development, but as a product of the company’s ongoing support for an extremely interesting, immense and competitive market, one in which Pirelli Tyre SpA has been active for two years and is experiencing healthy growth, thanks in part to the company’s newly established facilities for the production of car and truck tyres.

21st March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Won the Battle, but Who Will Win the War?

On 27 February the FIA announced that Pirelli had won the tender to be the official tyre supplier to the 2008, 2009 and 2010 FIA World Rally Championships. The decision came as something of a surprise for two reasons: Pirelli withdrew from WRC, citing “marketing reasons” only one season earlier; and secondly because the decision means Group Michelin no-longer supply either of the two leading four wheel motorsport series.

2nd March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

P Zero Official Grand Am Tyre

Pirelli Competizioni, who are celebrating their century of participation in motor sport during 2007, have released details of an agreement reached with Grand-Am, under which the Italian manufacturer will supply its P Zero Racing tyres to teams competing in the Grand Am Championship during the three seasons between 2008 and 2010. This agreement covers both the Daytona Prototype and GT categories of the Grand Am series.

7th February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Finishes WRC 2006 with Good Results, May be Back in 2008

Comments by Pirelli Competizioni Director Paul Hembery have led to speculation that the tyre company may return to the World Rally Championship in 2008.

7th December 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli-Shod Maseratis Pick Up Drivers’ Title

After winning the Team title in Budapest, the Maserati MC12s of Team Vitaphone – fitted with Pirelli P Zero Racing tyres – picked up the Drivers’ title as the team of Bertolini-Bartels notched up a fifth win in nine races at Adria in the latest stage of the 2006 FIA-GT Championship. As well as the two Maseratis finishing 1st and 2nd, two Aston Martin DBR9s, also fitted with Pirelli P Zero Racing tyres, finished 4th and 5th, with the Babini-Pescatori Aston setting the fastest lap round the Venetian circuit.

17th October 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli To Be Control Tyre For British Rally Championship

Pirelli Tyres has been selected as the control tyre manufacturer for the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship. The three-year agreement with Pirelli sees the BRC introducing a prize fund to be spread across all classes in the Championship with every finisher receiving prize money on every round. In addition to the substantial prize fund, Pirelli has introduced a driver development scheme unique to the BRC which, under their direct support, will see the winner being progressed in their careers.

9th October 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli: Quitting WRC Only One Option

Pirelli have confirmed that they are ‘reviewing’ their position with regard to competing in the FIA World Rally Championship beyond 2006. Reports in the latest edition of Autosport speculate that the Italian tyre manufacturer is considering quitting the sport and that they are less than happy now that Michelin is promoting its sister brand, BF Goodrich. However when contacted by Crash.net for clarification, Pirelli’s rally manager, Paul Hembery added that quitting the sport is only one option and that ‘many scenarios’ are possible for 2007 and beyond.

18th May 2006/by Tyrepress Editors