Pirelli – which has supplied tyres exclusively for the GP3 championship this year – will also supply the GP2 championship from 2011, becoming the sole provider of tyres for the most prestigious single-seater championships in global motorsport.

The Milan-based firm is already present in the World Rally Championship, the World Superbike Championship, the Rolex Sports Car Series in North America, the Motocross World Championship and several other national championships for both cars and bikes.

The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile), the Teams, represented by FOTA (the Formula One Teams Association), and Formula One's organising body, represented by FOM (Formula One Management) have chosen Pirelli as their exclusive supplier, based on the specific proposals from the Italian company to guarantee technical and operational stability to the competitors.

Following current Formula One regulations laid down by world motorsport's governing body, the FIA, the new contract ensures that Pirelli will provide teams with six different types of tyre for the season: four slicks, with different compounds for various types of dry surfaces, one rain tyre for heavy rain, and one intermediate tyre for damp conditions or light rain.

The current economic climate has led to a realistic and collaborative approach with all the teams, ensuring that manufacturing and logistical costs are shared fairly.

Pirelli's return to Formula One also has a firm eye on the future, as in full collaboration with all the teams, research into innovative new tyre developments is a vital part of this exciting programme.

Pirelli is also proud to announce that it will supply the GP2 World Series – the acknowledged stepping-stone to Formula One – for the three-year period between 2011-2013.

Pirelli's latest participation at the highest levels of single-seater racing make a welcome addition to the celebrated Italian firm's other motorsport activities including, from this year, a tyre supply agreement for the inaugural GP3 series. Pirelli will consequently become the single supplier to all the most prestigious racing championships in the world from 2011.

Pirelli is planning to make important investments in corporate communications, in order to make the most of the high profile and cutting-edge technology that go hand in hand with supplying Formula One, using resources and budget that has already been set aside for this purpose.

This communications campaign will principally help to support Pirelli's increasing profile in emerging markets: Latin America, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, which are all areas frequently visted by Formula One.

Consequently Formula One will become a vital calling card for the Pirelli brand, helping its commercial and industrial expansion without disrupting the company's long-term financial strategy.

The global visibility guaranteed through extensive media interest in Formula One, together with dynamic plans to leverage Pirelli's involvement in an activity central to the company's core business, represents a unique opportunity for the brand to maximise its return on investment.

This new Formula One agreement crowns Pirelli's historic involvement in world motorsport, which dates back to 1907 when the Italian fim won the epic Paris-Peking road race. Pirelli currently exclusively supplies some of the most important World Championships for both cars and bikes, such as the GP3 series, the World Rally Championship, the Rolex Sports Car Series in North America, the World Superbike Championship, and the Motocross World Championship. On top of this, Pirelli also supplies more than 70 other national and international championships. The last Grand Prix victory claimed by Pirelli was the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix, with Nelson Piquet driving for Benetton.


Pirelli will be available to provide further details on the tyre supply agreement tomorrow, 24 June 2010, at 2.30 p.m. CEST during a conference call, in which the Chairman of Pirelli & C., Marco Tronchetti Provera, and the CEO of Pirelli Tyre, Francesco Gori, will intervene. Journalists will be able to participate by telephone, with the possibility to ask questions, by calling the number: +39 06 3348 5042 or +39 06 3348 6868 or +39 06 33168 and then dialing *0 . (Emergency line for problems to connect: +39 06 334844 or +39 06 33444 551).

The presentation will also be available via webcast – in real time – on the website www.pirelli.com in the Media – Press Area section.

More information, as well as photographs and videos, are available at:
www.pirelli.com/web/media/press_area/default.page

Among the Geneva Premires, Bentley Continental Flying Spur, Ferrari 430 Spider, Lamborghini Concept S., Mercedes M Class, BMW Serie 3, Saab 9-3 SportCombi, Audi RS4 and A6 Station Wagon, Volkswagen Passat, Alfa Romeo 159 and Alfa Romeo Brera, Fiat Croma and Lancia Ypsilon Sport, Ford Focus ST are equipped with Pirelli PZero ultra high performance tyres and the Land Rover Discovery 3 and Range Rover Vogue with Pirelli Scorpion Zero Asimmetrico tyres.

The Pirelli top presence on many of the most prestigeous cars brands worldwide confirms the Group's positive growth trend on the Original Equipment sector in Europe and in the United States, as well as its strong positioning on the market's higher segments.

Meanwhile, his team mate Mikko Hirvonen finished the event in fourth place: matching his best-ever career result obtained in Argentina. Mikko was competing in Australia for only the second time and ends the 2004 World Championship in sixth place: also the best result of his young career.

Both drivers used Pirelli's KP4 and KP2 tyres in the hot and dry conditions of the final leg of Rally Australia. The new P Zero range of tyres showed themselves to be as competitive as ever on this type of gravel, having claimed five wins and 95 fastest stage times throughout the season. Had it not been for mechanical problems in Mexico, Cyprus, Turkey and Argentina, Petter could have added four more wins to that total.

Pirelli's rally manager Fiorenzo Brivio explained: " It's been a positive end to the season in Australia, where we have once more demonstrated the superiority of Pirelli's P Zero gravel tyres. This allows us to look forward to the 2005 season, which once more includes 11 gravel rallies, with a great deal of optimism. As well as victory on individual events, we will be targeting the World Championship with Subaru and Peugeot. "

Petter Solberg said: " We certainly had the pace to win here, which shows in our stage times. It's been a good year with some fantastic results, but we should have won more rallies. However, together with Pirelli we have been the quickest package on gravel all season, which is very satisfying."

Mikko Hirvonen commented: " I've learnt a lot, not only from this rally but over the course of this year. It's not always been easy, but I have been consistently impressed with the capabilities of Pirelli's P Zero tyre range."

Rally Australia - Final classification after SS25

Drivers Championship

Manufacturers

The weekend of the last round of the FIA GT 2004 Championship gave the definitive confirmation of the remarkable consistency of the Pirelli P Zero tyres: Maserati MC12 was equipped in fact with a new front tyre, that has allowed to obtain great results for the whole Chinese week end, also catching up a " Pirelli warm up" in which the first six cars were all P Zero equipped. And still on purpose of covers, after the race Mika Salo has declared: " We are very satisfied to join these first points also thanks to Pirelli that has allowed us to carry out a double stint with the same tyres in the first part of the race, allowing us to earn precious seconds against the Ferrari 550" .

In N-GT class great week end also for the Ferrari 360 - Pirelli of the GPC Squadra Corse team, which has win the race with Christian Pescatori and Jamie Melo. The Porsches of Freisinger Motorsport team has been in difficulty during this week end, also because of the power of the Ferrari. However, thanks to their good results during the whole season, the Porsche of Freisinger team has been the car that altogether has well demonstrated to deserve the title.

The championship FIA GT 2004 is closed, an event that has carried on the most important world's circuits the taste of the speed and the sport. And, like always, the " voices of the paddock" already are speaking about the new challenges for 2005.

The final leg, split into two loops of three stages, was characterised by overnight rain which made the roads very slippery in the morning. On the second run through the stages conditions were drier, but there was a lot of mud on the road caused by cars cutting corners on the previous loop.

Solberg started the rally with a strong rhythm, but during the dry conditions of the second leg he lost time looking for the best combination of set-up and tyres. This was due to the deliberate decision to concentrate resources on gravel testing this year - a surface where Pirelli and Subaru have an excellent winning record. Solberg has won five gravel rallies so far this year - including a consecutive run of the last three held on loose surfaces.

Pirelli's rally manager Fiorenzo Brivio explained: " It was a difficult rally because of the extremely variable climatic conditions, and also because of the problems in finding the right combination of set-up and tyres. Nonetheless Petter has come away with valuable points which will be important in the run up to our return to gravel for the final rally in Australia, where we will all be doing our best to hold onto second place in the drivers' world championship."

Petter Solberg commented: " It's not been an easy weekend, but we have gathered some points and a lot of information that will be useful for the future. Now I can't wait to go to the next gravel rally in Australia: an event I love which I won last year."

Suzuki driver Per-Gunnar Andersson won the Junior World Championship in Spain, using Pirelli tyres. The young Swedish has won three Junior World Rally Championship events this year, making sure of the title with a second place in Spain. Renault driver Nicolas Bernardi finished first in the JWRC classification.

Andersson commented: " I decided to go flat-out from the start, and it was a tactic that paid off. Despite the wildly varying conditions our Pirelli tyres worked well and we managed to steer clear of punctures."

Catalunya Rally - Final Classification

Drivers Championship

Manufacturers

Next round: Rally Australia, 12-14 November

The cars and above all the drivers have suffered heavy temperatures, about 70C in the inside the front engine cars like Ferrari 575. Engines have generally withstander, in spite of the temperature and the sand. Warmth has conditioned the race's tactics, imposing four pit-stop to change the driver, because physically was not possible to face a turn of an hour like usual. Optimal behaviour of the Pirelli covers for all the teams, than in spite of the difficult, warmest and full of sand outside the trajectories asphalt, they have guaranteed good grip without to decay too much in the last laps.

Although a good result in the qualifying, the Ferrari 575's race of the team GPC Squadra Corse has suffered some reliability problems, in particular to the gear box on the car of Babini and to the steering on that one of Naspetti. Great recovery of the pair Bartels-Alzen on Saleen S7-R Pirelli equipped, that starting in the last position, like previewed from the regulations in order to have replaced the engine, has finished in virtual fourth position that is third because the result is not available for the Maserati, being outside scoring.

In N-GT still Porsche dominion, victorious also here with the only trouble represented from the Ferrari 360 Pirelli of the team GPC Squadra Corse.

Quotes: Cody Crocker
" It's just a fantastic result team result. The guys have put in so much work and so many hours and they all do it so I can drive this car and I can't thank them enough."
" It feels just as good this time, and I'm just as elated. The competition this year has been incredibly fierce, probably more so than last year, so it's a hell of a moment with lots of elation I can tell you."

Globalstar Australian Rally Championship Driver's points

NGK Rally of Melbourne - Heat Two (Provisional), Sunday October 3, 2004

NGK Rally of Melbourne - Heat One, Saturday October 2, 2004