MILAN, ItalyThe FIA GT Series, promoted by SRO Motorsports Group, kicked off its endurance racing season earlier this year with Pirelli S.p.A. as its official tire supplier.
The series opened at Nogaro in southwest France. Pirelli previously supplied the FIA GT Championship in 2012, and said it is using the know-how gained previously to enhance the tires it is supplying the GT Series this season.
The design of the 2013 Pirelli GT tires has taken on many of the lessons learned from other series, including Formula 1, the tire maker said, noting that the working processes have been further optimized to meet the needs of the FIA GT Series while maintaining the performance characteristics that endurance drivers have preferred in the past.
The GT Series cars use 18-inch tires, with the exception of Ferrari, which uses 19-inch tires on the rear. The sizes are close to those used for road cars, Pirelli said, allowing a direct technology transfer from track to street.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli's motorsport director, said the company is proud to support SRO and the FIA GT Series this year, which has a strong and competitive grid for 2013, as many of the cars competing are similar to the supercars that we supply on the road.
Our objective is to produce a consistent and effective tire for the series, which offers both good performance and durability. Despite the fact there are a number of different manufacturers and car configurations on the grid, Pirelli strives to provide a tire that works equally well for all of them. The slick tires used for GT racing will be branded P Zero this yearjust like the slicks that have become a central feature of Formula 1.
The FIA GT Series is a global sports car venue based on race versions of road-going supercars. The series features vehicle manufacturers including Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren, all of which use Pirelli P Zero tires as original equipment on their road cars.
Remaining races on the FIA GT1 Series calendar will be held in October in Navarra, Spain, and in the Middle East in November.