Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail

Jeff Johnston and I are sorry we missed your phone calls yesterday. We were traveling to the Cincinnati V-Twin dealer Expo and were then deep in preparation for the show’s opening this morning.

First, we regret that an unhappy ex-employee decided to go public with his personal feelings. Those situations are always unpleasant for all concerned. But we want to assure you and your readers, unequivocally, that Pirelli is moving full-tilt in its efforts in the U.S. market. Our commitment to both riders and racers is totally focused, and we are moving forward as a committed team, driven, both here and in Europe, by our personal and technological efforts to grow the Pirelli brand in North America. Pirelli will honor all of its commitments to our current race teams, and will continue to build new relationships. We will continue to build better access to our tires through our race distributors. We will continue to develop and build better products for the marketplace, and the tires we have brought to the market in just the past couple years are a testament to this effort.

Pirelli is keeping its eye on the prize in the same way that racers and race teams do in their quest to be the best at what they do. In answer to your question about who racers and/or teams should contact for their needs, for the time being they may call Debra Penro at 706-368-5426.

Sincerely,

Mark Wilhelm – Country Manager
Pirelli Tire North America
Motorcycle Division
Rome, Georgia