en Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:00:00 +0200 Pirelli triumphs in the Memorial Bettega The Lombardy driver wins an extremely tense final against Gardemeister's Citroen Atkinson's Subaru-Pirelli third. Cavallini (also Subaru-Pirelli) wins the Italian WRC.

Milan, 17 December 2006 - A year after his victory in the Mitsubishi Lancer, Gigi Galli has done it again. The Livigno's rally ace, Italy, dominated the Memorial Bettega, beating Toni Gardemeister. Driving a Peugeot 307 WRC in the assertive livery of Pirelli and prepared by Bozian, Galli won three of the five heats against a single success of the Finn. The Peugeot on P Zero tyres also broke the stage record, further confirmation of the superiority demonstrated by the Italian driver and the latest evolution of the P Zero K6 fielded at Bologna by Pirelli Competizioni. Factory Subaru driver Chris Atkinson deservedly took third place on the podium.

Also on Pirelli tyres was Toscana driver Tobia Cavallini, who won the Trofeo WRC Italia at the wheel of a Subaru Impreza WRC and - crowning a great weekend for the Milan tyre manufacturer - another two victories were scored on Pirelli by Anton Alen in the Subaru Impreza Cup and Tonino Tognana in the Historic Rally Show with a fabulous Lancia Rally 037.

"I am delighted with this second consecutive success at Bologna", said an emotional Galli . "After the optimum results achieved in the Peugeot 307 WRC on Pirelli in various rounds of the world championship this year, winning the Memorial Bettega is always very pleasing. The P Zero K6s gave me a tremendous amount of traction on both the loose and asphalt, which was most certainly not the surface for which they were developed, further proof of their quality. As far as I am personally concerned, I hope this victory will earn me a valid programme for 2007, like the one Pirelli Competizioni quickly put together this year for me".

Mario Isola, Rally Manager of Pirelli Competizioni , observed, "The notable qualities demonstrated by the tyres Pirelli fielded at Bologna were able to make the difference against the competition and not only in the WRC segment, but also on Group Ns, which are derived from normal production - as well as the potent and always spectacular Group B cars. Pirelli's commitment does not stop with the end of the competitive year, however, because our tyres will be racing again on 6 January, having been selected by numerous entrants in the extraordinary Lisbon-Dakar marathon". ]]> Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:00:00 +0200 /xml/news/news/pirellityre-en_AU-News1000005965.xml 31st Bologna Motor show's rally days Many top cars fit Pirelli P Zero tyres in most rally events at the Italian motor show.
Galli in a Pirelli-shod Peugeot 307 WRC is among the Memorial Bettega favourites.  

Milan, 15 December 2006 - The final weekend of racing at the Bologna Motor Show is almost entirely given over to rallying. And there will be about 10 drivers on Pirelli , sub-divided into the various trophy and cup events who will fire the enthusiasm of the large crowd in the stands of Area 48 of the Fiera di Bologna. Pirelli Competizioni will have a major presence in both the single marque cup (Subaru Impreza, Mitsubishi Evo) and the trophy events for the WRC cars in Italian rallying, supplying its tyres to almost all the favourites in each case.

Pirelli's presence has also assumed a pre-eminent role in the key competition of the three rally days scheduled for the 31 ^st Motor Show, the Memorial Bettega. Six of the eight WRC cars entered for this event will be on the Italian manufacturer's tyres and among them will be the 2005 winner Gigi Galli at the wheel of a Peugeot 307 in Pirelli's red and yellow livery, with which he shone in a number of rounds of the recently concluded World Rally Championship (third overall in Argentina), British champion Mark Higgins in the Ford Focus on P Zero in which Valentino Rossi won the Rally of Monza, the ex-Italian champion Piero Longhi with a Subaru Impreza and above all Chris Atkinson, who will drive a factory Subaru Impreza in what will be the last event for a WRC car of the Subaru World Rally Team with the Milan manufacturer's tyres.

In the trophy race for WRC cars active in Italy, P Zeros supplied by Pirelli Competizioni will be campaigned by drivers of the calibre of Michele Gregis, Pucci Grossi and Matteo Musti (Peugeot 206 WRC) and Tobia Cavallini (Subaru Impreza WRC). Pirelli is also the official tyre supplier to the Mitsubishi Evo Cup, in which talent such as Matteo Gamba and Paolo Pesavento will compete, as well as the Subaru Impreza Cup, which will involve drivers such as Anton Alen (first in the Finnish and British rounds in the Gr. N World Championship) and Alan Scorcioni. The Trofeo Rally Super N will also be well worth watching, as it will include ten cars (Mitsubishis and Subarus), many of which will be on Pirelli tyres.
The Impreza STis will be driven by rally legend Andrea Aghini, Alessandro Perico and Pirelli track racer Fabio Babini, as well as Alex Broccoli and Francesco Laganà in Lancer Evos.

Paul Hembery, director of  Pirelli Competizioni , said, " Pirelli's commitment to rallying has been notable in the past and will continue to be so in the years to come. In a 2006 season marked by many P Zero Racing successes on the track, rallying has also provided Pirelli with a great deal of satisfaction, such as the many victories in the Group N World Championship, the titles won by Higgins in the British championship and Subaru in the Italian Group N Constructors' Championship and so on. The Memorial Bettega is an event the importance of which goes beyond the confines of Italy and for this reason Pirelli Competizioni is aiming at winning it again, repeating Galli's triumph with the Mitsubishi Lancer 12 months ago". ]]> Fri, 15 Dec 2006 14:00:00 +0200 /xml/news/news/pirellityre-en_AU-News1000005967.xml Pirelli Tyre wins Ford Oscar award for reliability and product quality The US production facility of Pirelli Tyre, with its Mirs technology, has qualified for the prestige Q1 Award from Ford Motor Company for its product quality and its customer care Italian tyres are increasingly important contenders at the top end of the US market for cars and SUVs.

Rome, Georgia (USA), 14th December 2006 - Pirelli's robotized tyre-manufacturing technology has gained one of American industry's highest awards for quality and reliability: the Ford Motor Company Q1 award.

The US carmaker elected Pirelli Tire North America for its quality supplier award on the strength of "the excellence of its operations and the exceptional standard of its customer care" at the Pirelli manufacturing facility in Rome (Georgia), which utilizes Mirs technology (Modular integrated robotized system) to produce high-performance tyres for cars and SUVs. This is the second distinction that Pirelli Tyre has obtained in the United States in just three months: in September a market survey by J.D.Power & Associates Institute involving 23,000 US motorists found that Pirelli tyres enjoyed top preference status among American buyers in the mass-market/non-luxury segment.

Pirelli Tyre CEO, Francesco Gori, in remarking on the award, stated: "Q1 is a distinction of the highest standing and confirms the rapid advance made by our operations in the United States . Pirelli Tire North America focuses it efforts on select targets both in the renewals and in the original equipment markets, and in this strategy Ford Motor Company represents a key element".

The car industry increasingly demands that its suppliers demonstrate a capacity to work to set international standards: among these the Ford Q1 Program is one of the most rigorous and testing. To secure Q1 status suppliers must be able to guarantee compliance with a number of core production and quality parameters. Pirelli Tyre has fulfilled or out-performed all the bench-mark criteria in each Q1 category as a Ford supplier. In the US, thanks to Mirs robotized technology, Pirelli manages to manufacture an extensive and varied range of high-performance products such as can meet any requirement in a market as demanding and as segmented as the America one - ranging through original equipment for the Ford Mustang, the Ford F-150 "Harley" - including the top version of this pick up, and extending to the Dodge SRT 10, America's most powerful SUV.      ]]> Thu, 14 Dec 2006 10:00:00 +0200 /xml/news/news/pirellityre-en_AU-News1000005966.xml