Pirelli renewed as Italian F4, GT supplier

MILAN, Italy (Nov. 20, 2015) — Automobile Club d'Italia, the sanctioning body for the Italian Formula 4 and GT championships, has renewed its race tire supply contracts with Pirelli Motorsports for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Pirelli has been the tire supplier to both series for the past two years. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The Italian F4 series is one of five national F4 series that Pirelli supplies around the world. The others are Germany, the United Kingdom South America and the U.S. (starting in 2016). The single-seat, open-wheel Formula 4 is designed as a first step on the ladder of talent designed to take aspiring drivers all the way to Formula 1 through a series of national championships.

The Italian F4 chassis is powered by an Abarth 1.4-liter turbo engine. Pirelli supplies two types of 13-inch tires — P Zero DM slicks and Cinturato WM wets.

The Italian GT championship — for GT3 sports cars — uses the same venues as the Formula 4 series, Pirelli said, and overlaps to a degree the Eurpean-wide Blancpain GT Series, which Pirelli also supplies.

Pirelli will supply the Italian series with the P Zero DHC slick and Cinturato WH wet tire next year, similar to those adopted by the Blancpain series. There will be up to 10 tire sizes offered — from 315/680-18 to 325/705-19 — to cater for all the different cars, Pirelli said.

Pirelli's racing manager Mario Isola said: “We're very pleased to renew these important contracts, continuing our legacy in both domestic championships and helping to put in place opportunities for drivers to graduate to the highest levels of motorsport using our tires. In keeping with our philosophy, the accent is on close but cost effective competition, as we continue to play an increasingly prominent role on the national racing scene in Italy.”