Following on from the official tests of the 10th and 11th March, the GTWC Europe competitors are back at the Paul Ricard circuit in Le Castellet over the weekend of 13th April to celebrate the start of the season with a six hour race that looks like being competitive and closely fought. A record 59 cars, a number not seen over the past ten years, will line up for the start at 18.00 on Saturday, including that of the Ferrari AF Corse Francorchamps Motors team, which won the Endurance Cup in 2024. 
Alongside the main event, there are two other series running Pirelli rubber: the GT2 European Series and the GT4 European Series, fielding 55 cars between them.

PIRELLI QUOTE
“Pirelli’s season starts with a demanding weekend from a logistics and organisational point of view, but we’re not complaining as it confirms just how vibrant are the SRO GT series,” commented Matteo Braga, Pirelli’s Circuit Activity Manager. “When it comes to our product, we are curious to see how the new DHG performs in such a tough race, after it delivered very positive results in the test, much appreciated by the teams.”

P ZERO DHG: A WIDER WORKING RANGE AND GREATER VERSATILITY
The opening round of the season marks the race debut of the new P Zero DHG tyres, which completes the revision of the entire GT range. The DHG is the successor to the DHF, which over its three years of use drew plaudits from the teams and drivers because of its versatility and reliability in all conditions and provided a solid foundation for the BoP system developed by SRO.
The new P Zero comes in various sizes to suit all the GT classes. The main innovations of the new P Zero fitted to the blue riband GT category concern the materials used, which ensure quicker warm-up and more consistency in terms of car balance over long distance. As for the DHG tyres for the GT2 and GT4 cars, apart from having the same new materials as the GT3 range, are different to the previous generation in terms of their carcass, with an optimised profile and construction to ensure a more uniform footprint in all track conditions and for all cars.

THE WET WEATHER CINTURATO WHB 
Introduced in 2024 solely for the GT2 cars and in some championships also for GT3, the latest evolution of Pirelli’s wet weather tyre for this season will be the standard across the board for all GT cars of every class in the main championships this year. The Cinturato WHB, which as from this year uses FSC® certified natural rubber, as do the dry weather tyres, features a new, stiffer tread design than the previous generation, thanks to the use of innovative materials. The new compounds have contributed to improving the footprint, while optimising grip and warm-up at low temperatures. The stability in the transition from wet to dry conditions has not been compromised, nor has its sensitivity to aquaplaning, which has in fact improved. Finally, its operating window in a race has been expanded. 

FSC® CERTIFICATION
This year’s range for GT cars will feature the logo of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®)1 . This indicates that all the natural rubber used in the tyres2 comes from plantations that are managed so as to ensure biodiversity, as well as benefiting the people who live and work in these areas. This stringent FSC® certification process ensures that all certified material is kept separate from that which is not certified throughout the supply chain from the plantation to the tyre manufacturer. 
The extension of this certification to the GT range of tyres confirms Pirelli’s commitment to research into solutions that contribute to progressing motorsport’s path to sustainability, in line with initiatives undertaken by the FIA (International Automobile Federation) and the promoters of the various championships in which it is involved.
For a seventh consecutive year, Pirelli has been confirmed as a world leader in the fight against climate change, securing a place in the 2024 Climate A list produced by the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), an international non-profit organisation that gathers, disseminates and promotes information on environmental matters. Pirelli is the first tyre manufacturer to be awarded three stars from the Environmental Accreditation Programme promoted by the FIA.
 

1 The Pirelli tyres (FSC®N003618) are FSC® certified as a natural rubber MIX, which means they are produced with a mixture of natural and synthetic rubber, in compliance with l’FSC® ADVICE-40-004-15.
2 Equal to a share amounting to 17% of the total weight of the tyre.



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