Formula One driver Robert Kubica, winner of the 2008 Canadian
Grand Prix, raced to a class win at the recent Rally d'Alpi
Orientali while at the wheel of a Renault Clio Super 1600 equipped
with Pirelli tires.
Beginning in 2011, Pirelli has a three-year tire supply agreement
with the Formula One, GP2 and GP3 circuits.
A native of Poland, the d'Alpi Orientali win was the 25-year-old
Kubica's first class victory in rallying, achieved over the course
of a 14-stage, three-day event covering more than 103 competitive
miles.
His car was running on Pirelli's P Zero asphalt tires, which
proved to be both fast and reliable, according to Kubica.
"I just came here to have fun really," says Kubica, who placed
13th overall. "I have to be careful not to risk too much, as
Formula One is my real job. But I love the challenge of adapting
to rallying."
The Rally d'Alpi Orientali was held in difficult mixed weather
conditions in the northeast of Italy, and it proved to be a
successful weekend for other Pirelli drivers: Paolo Andreucci won
the rally overall in a Peugeot 207 S2000, Group N4 was clinched by
Andrea Perego in a Mitsubishi and Pierre Campana was the Group R3
victor in another Renault Clio.
PAGE 2
"It's great that we've got our Formula One campaign off to such a
successful early start by taking this class win with Robert
Kubica," says Pirelli motorsports director Paul Hembery.
"The performance of our P Zero tires in difficult conditions
enabled a driver who is still finding his feet in rallying to take
this very satisfying result," adds Hembery, "and we look forward
once again to making our presence felt strongly in both racing and
rallying in the future."
For more information, visit www.us.pirelli.com.
