Pirelli Tire Mustang GT shows its stuff in One lap of America

Courtesy Anthony Paulozza/Marcovitch PR

Montreal ­ May 9, 2005 - Originally conceived in the 1970s as a road race onpublic highways (gasp!) by Brock Yates of Car and Driver, the One Lap of America event now is a series of time trials run at a range of race tracks spread through the eastern half of the United States. The nearly 100 participants drive between venues, then go for it in on-track solo competition.

Pirelli Tire has entered this event in a 2005 Ford Mustang GT driven by employees Jeff Dinges (R&D) and Giancarlo Grioni (Marketing) as a way of showcasing the company's partnership with Ford in this Award winning vehicle and as a means to put its rubber to a vigorous test.

Since the competitors must start and finish on the same set, the 5120 km(3200 mi) combination of highway and track punishment makes an ideal test of tires.

The 22nd running of the event started on April 30 at the Tire Rack in Southbend Indiana, then the Pirelli Mustang sped to trials events in Pennsylvania, New York, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, Georgia and Ohio before heading to the finish in Southbend.

While the 2005 Mustang GT comes factory equipped with Pirelli's P Zero NeroM+S all-seasons, for this event it is equipped with what Anthony Paulozza of Pirelli Tire Inc. sees as the turner's dream Plus 3 fitment, the P Zero Nero255/35R20.

"This tire looks amazing and it performed exceptionally in this grueling event," Paulozza notes.

Proof of the tires ability shows in the results. With a 93-car field of superbly equipped vehicles and many experienced drivers, the Pirelli Mustang finished 2nd in class and 25th overall.

"The car really performed and at the end of the race, the tires still looked very good. Congratulations to everyone involved," Paulozza said.