Mark Higgins has broken his TT Races circuit record again today (June 11, 2011), averaging a speed of 115.3 mph using the same Pirelli P Zero Trofeo tires he used earlier in the week.
Pirelli P Zero Trofeo tires are road-legal track tires designed to give high-performance cars grip and handling at high speeds and, following a fast run yesterday, minimal wear to the tires, Higgins chose to use the same set today.
"They have been fantastic,” exclaimed Higgins. “And just to prove everything, these are the ones we used on Thursday as well, so they weren’t even brand new for today.
“They’ve given me good feeling, good progression and it’s a perfect track day tire. These have proved a point: to do a 115 mph average on these, it’s nearly unbelievable.”
At 3:30 p.m. local time today, the production-spec Subaru WRX STI, prepared by TEG Sport, sped around the course to break the 113.5 mph record that Higgins set just three days ago.
Paul Hembery, director of motorsport at Pirelli, was delighted with Mark and Subaru’s achievement on the P Zero Trofeo tires.
"We were sure that in a modern car on slick tires that this record could be easily beaten. However, driving on road-legal tires is a different matter.
"For the record to be broken is fantastic, but to average 115 mph on used tires is unbelievable. This really proves what a fantastically competitive, durable and long-lasting tire the Pirelli P Zero is. We offer our congratulations to Mark, Subaru and TEG Sport.”
Manx-born Mark completed the 37-mile circuit in 19 minutes 37 seconds and reached a top speed of 162 mph. His average speed of 115.5 mph is the new record for driving the closed-lap circuit.
The previous record was set in 1990, by British Rally Champion, Tony Pond. Pond teamed up withby British Rally Champion, Tony Pond. Pond teamed up with Austin Rover and, in a Rover 827 Vitesse, they became the first ever production car and driver to average over 100 mph around the Isle of Man TT Motor Bike Circuit.
Pirelli Tire North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tires for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets as well as markets and distributes tires for motorcycles and motorsports.
For more information please visit www.us.pirelli.com.
