Pirelli makes successful DTM debut

A happy premiere for Pirelli and the P Zero DHFs, which made a successful debut in the DTM – one of the world’s top international motorsport competitions, adding to the more than 350 championships supplied by the Italian company worldwide. In the two races of the first event of the season held at the Oschersleben circuit and won by Franck Perera (Lamborghini) and Christian Engelhart (Porsche) respectively, the P Zero tyres ensured reliability and performance for the 28 drivers and 14 teams in the German competition, who appreciated their versatility both in qualifying and in the race. 

Adaptability to the most diverse cars and conditions are in fact the main characteristics of the DHF, the specification of Pirelli’s iconic P Zero family dedicated to GT cars, which last year was completely redesigned to accompany the relentless technological evolution of the cars. At Oschersleben, race conditions were dry on both Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures around 20 degrees. For the tyres, the greatest stresses came from the tortuous layout of the track with medium-slow sections and sudden changes of direction that also put the mechanics of the cars to the test. 

PIRELLI QUOTE 
Matteo Braga, Pirelli Circuit Activities manager: "We are very satisfied with the performance of our tyres in the first seasonal event of such a prestigious championship, which offers us an exceptional stage in a key market like Germany. We and the teams have drawn valuable indications for the continuation of the season, and we have collected a lot of data that we have already started to analyse carefully. It is still early to draw definitive conclusions, but I can say that our product has confirmed its great adaptability, which has allowed all the drivers to find themselves in a position to compete for top positions with gaps of a few tenths of a second. It is no coincidence that we had very close races and two different brands on the top step of the podium. In qualifying we had over 15 cars within 0.5 seconds and the whole field within a second. Obviously, everyone will have to find the best strategy to fot performance, consistency, and tyre management over the weekend. At Zandvoort we will be confronted with a different situation, because of the weather conditions and the layout of the circuit, and for sure the teams will arrive with more know-how that will help them calibrate their strategies even better."