- Pirelli has a new competition tire exclusively for the United States called the P Zero Trofeo Track.
- The nearly-slick tire is designed for SCCA and NASA events, and here’s the kicker: it’s DOT approved.
- That said, Pirelli strongly recommends you don’t use them on public roads, as they’re basically a competition slick.
With how expensive track time can be, it’s easy to forget how lucky we are in the United States to have so many road courses scattered throughout the country. With all those tracks comes a wealth of grassroots motorsport and club racing, and several series that require DOT-approved tires to compete. Pirelli’s newest tire, the P Zero Trofeo Track, is a nearly-slick competition tire designed specifically for those events. PirelliThe new tire is intended for the various SCCA and NASA championships that require drivers to use DOT-approved tires. That means they’re technically street legal, but they’re intended strictly for track use. Speaking to media at the launch of the new P-Zero family at Monza, Emanuele Vanzetti, the lead engineer for the Trofeo Track, confirmed as much. “It’s basically a slick tire, with some tread designed to make it comply with the DOT, but it’s thought of as a competition tire,” Vanzetti said. In the same vein, Vanzetti said, Pirelli designed the Trofeo Track to run at pressures you run at the track. PirelliPirelli engineers also told Car and Driver that one of the things they’re most proud of with the new Trofeo Track is how easy it is to drive on. During the development process, Pirelli had a range of drivers test the new tire, including both professionals and amateurs. Across the board, drivers spoke about the gradual drop in performance, according to Vanzetti. The feedback goes hand in hand with one of Pirelli’s main aims for the Trofeo Track—that it would provide lap-after-lap performance, instead of giving maximum pace for just a lap or two before dropping off severely. PirelliDevelopment for the new tire was split between Pirelli’s normal circuit of European tracks and U.S. road courses that Vanzetti’s team pictures them racing on in the future. Pirelli is starting by offering the Trofeo Track in sizes ranging from 17- to 21-inch wheels—sorry, Miata drivers—but that could change over time. The new tire is built in Rome, Georgia, and, as it’s designed for our various club racing events, it will be sold exclusively in the United States. Recent Pirelli NewsJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.
Source: caranddriver.com
