Pirelli: No To Karting - For the Moment
| 15 September 2016 |
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Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli will not be suppplying tyres to karting next year, though it's certainly a possibility after that.
Much speculation was created when Pirelli P Zero branded tyres were seen on karts at Fernando Alonso's Karting Campos circuit in Spain recently.
These tyres were actually made by another Italian tyre company, Le Cont, and branded Pirelli.
According to Pirelli's Motorsport Racing Manager Mario Isola, Alonso asked Pirelli for tyres, but as Pirelli don't make karting tyres, they approached Le Cont to produce them.
TKart Magazine conducted a video interview with Isola regarding the company and karting (see below).
Isola confirmed Pirelli is not producing kart tyres, but they would one day like to see drivers use Pirelli rubber all the way from karting to Formula One (they already supply GP2 and GP3).
While karting is on Pirelli's radar, they don't have a specific plan or strategy to enter the market at this stage as a lot of things would have to be organised and learned beforehand.
"If we decided to enter karting categories, we would need to evaluate in detail all the possibilities" Isola told TKart.
"Pirelli has a strong name and a strong brand in motorsports. When and if we decide to enter karting it has to be with a product of the top level because we need to keep our image at the top."
So... who might have, or might acquire, the Le Cont and/or Pirelli contracts for Australia?
Above: Video - interview with Pirelli's Mario Isola, conducted by TKartMagazine (article HERE in Italian)
