Toyo Tire USA Corp. has re-signed seven-time Supercross champion and off-road racer Jeremy McGrath to Team Toyo Off-Road. Competing in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, McGrath will race his 900-horsepower Pro 2 Ford truck on 17-inch Toyo Open Country M/T-R tires. "I’m excited to have this opportunity to once again be competing on Toyo tires,” said McGrath. “With the support of Toyo and the Open Country M/T-R tires putting our Roush Yates power to the ground, this Stronghold Motorsports Pro 2 Unlimited program has the total package. I can’t wait for the season opener.” McGrath raced on Toyo Open Country M/T-R when he made his debut in short course off-road racing in 2007, and again in 2008. The 2011 edition begins Mar. 19, at Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Ariz.
Michelin Announces 2011 ALMS Partner Teams
Michelin has set it 2011 lineup of GT partner teams for the American Le Mans Series, adding a pair of Ford GTs from Robertson Racing and an exotic new Panoz Abruzzi. Continuing their long relationship with Michelin are the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche, Risi Competizione Ferrari and Corvette Racing teams. Also continuing with Michelin after a highly successful inaugural season in 2010 is the Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari team headed by former ALMS prototype champion Scott Sharp. Each is a leader for their respective factory efforts in ALMS. “The ALMS GT category is considered to be the most competitive category in international motorsports today,” said Silvia Mammone, Michelin motorsports manager. “We are pleased to have all of our 2010 ALMS technical partner teams continue with Michelin and we look forward to working with the Robertson and Panoz teams and welcoming their fans and friends to the Michelin ALMS family.” “Michelin places a tire engineer with each of our technical partner race teams,” said Karl Koenigstein, Michelin ALMS technical team leader. “We do that to provide a constant source of fresh data, insights and understanding of the performance of our tires in the extremes of competition and provide our partners with exceptional levels of feedback and support.”
Record Breaking Day as Continental Debuts at Daytona
The statisticians were as busy as the drivers at Daytona International Speedway last week after four different track records were established in the opening qualifying sessions of the 2011 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season. The day marked the first official on-track action for Continental, the new official tire of the Rolex Sports Car Series. Running in the top Daytona Prototype class with the Continental ExtremeContact race tires, Jorg Bergmiester set a fast lap time of 1:40.099 seconds with a Porsche-powered Riley in the closing moments of the session after getting some encouragement from his Flying Lizards crew. The GT Class also saw history being made, as Dominik Farnbacher's Porsche posted a quick time of 1:48.781 to also set a new record in the GT Class.
Continental Debuts New Tire for the Grand-Am Series
Along with all of the records, the 24 Hours at Daytona race begins Continental's expanded commitment to Grand-Am road racing as the official tire of the Rolex Sports Car Series. The new official status means a new official Continental race tire that will be used by all of the Daytona Prototypes class competitors and other entries in the GT class.
Pirelli Partners With Renault Rally Trophies
Pirelli has sealed a three-year agreement as exclusive supplier to the one-make rally series organized by Renault, which will take place throughout several European countries in 2011. Pirelli tires have already been seen on the Renault Clio R3 since the car made its debut in 2009, supplying the Italian and Swiss Clio championships, and the Italian rubber has also equipped the Twingo R2 since 2010. From 2011, Pirelli covers will be used exclusively by every Renault competing in the rally series, and with the renowned European Trophy, which forms part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The cars will use a selection of Pirelli's asphalt and gravel tires this year. These tires are based on technology similar to the covers seen on the World Rally Championship, where the Italian firm was sole supplier from 2008 to 2010.