Pirelli and its P Zero racing tires helped BMW reach a Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series milestone during the June 19 EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with victories in both the Daytona Prototype and GT divisions in the same race for the first time.
Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas took a huge step toward locking down the 2010 Daytona Prototype Championship with their fifth win in seven races this year in the No. 01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing BMW Riley. Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand gave Turner Motorsport its first GT win in the No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 in the GT class.
It was also the first GT win for the BMW M6 model and the first for a BMW of any type in the series’ GT clas since 2005.
The P Zeros played a key role in the successful day for both BMW teams, says motorsports director Rafael Navarro III.
“It was a big day for Pirelli,” notes Pruett. “This was the first time that we double stinted a set of tires and the performance was incredible. We worked them pretty hard because I had to work my way through traffic, and I was really asking a lot of the tire which allowed us to control the pace. It was huge.”
Pruett led the No. 60 Crown Royal XR Ford Riley of Oswaldo Negri and John Pew across the finish line by 2.991 seconds. Mark Wilkins and Burt Frisselle finished third in the No. 61 AIM Autosport Ford Riley.
“I was in the car for two hours and 15 minutes, and I am so glad I had the Pirelli tires underneath me,” Negri recounts. “It’s amazing and they just get better and better and better. I will never have any issue with these tires, I was running my lines and never had any pick up, and I just love it. I just really wish Pirelli would be here next year for us.”
The No. 01 team won its second consecutive race, which means a $15,000 “double rollover” Pirelli P Zero Club bonus will be on the line for any eligible first-time 2010 Daytona Prototype winner in the next event at Daytona International Speedway on July 3.
As a first-year team, the No. 94 Turner BMW is not currently a Pirelli P Zero Club member, which means a season-high bonus of $20,000 will be up for grabs for any eligible first-time 2010 GT winners at Daytona.
“It was great and that tire ran solid as a rock all day,” says Auberlen, who led for 16 laps during his opening shift in the winning M6. “It is something that you can rely on that Pirelli is going to give you something great and every time I drive them, it makes me smile…nobody complains about the Pirelli because it always comes through.”
Hand was at the wheel for 30 of the No. 94’s race-high 46 laps in the lead.
“I was saving from the beginning of my stint for the end of the race, and I tell you these tires hold on, and they did hold on,” says Hand, who took the lead for good with 17 laps to go. “If you are good to them they are good to you.”
The July 3 Brumos Porsche 250 At Daytona will be aired live on the Speed Channel beginning at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT.
For more information, visit www.us.pirelli.com.
