Pirelli Chosen as Sole Supplier for Prototype Cup

Pirelli has been chosen as the sole tire supplier for the new Prototype Cup, which is the the first national-level racing series in the UK for the LMP3 category of cars. The new series has been created by Bute Motorsport, which is the organizer and promoter of the GT Cup and the races in the series have already begun. Pirelli has been the tire supplier for the GT Cup from 2009.

The LMP3 was introduced last year by the organizer of the Le Mans 24 Hours – the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) – as an entry level category for aspiring endurance racers and has become highly popular in a short period of time. The Prototype Cup has drawn similar interest after it was launched earlier in 2016. The first race in the Prototype Cup was held at Snetterton (alongside the final round of this year’s GT Cup) and participants included Australian British F3 race winner Thomas Randle and European Le Mans Series (ELMS) racers Wayne Boyd and Guy Cosmo.

For the 2017 series, a six-event calendar has been proposed, subject to MSA approval and these will comprise 12 one-hour races with a mid-race pit stop. The Prototype Cup, like the GT Cup, is meant to draw the interest of bronze/amateur-rated drivers and to give them a chance to pair up with professional racers.

According to Matthew Corby, Pirelli motorsport operations manager , the company already has a highly successful relationship with Bute Motorsport through the GT Cup and hence was interested in extending this further to cover the new Prototype Cup, which he hoped will help bring high-level prototype racing to the UK. The LMP3 category will serve as a cost-effective route for teams and drivers to enter motorsports.

Marc Haynes, founder and managing director of Bute Motorsport, added that it was a natural progression to have Pirelli  as the sole supplier for the Prototype Cup in view of the organization’s long and successful partnership with Pirelli in the GT Cup. He said that many top level teams and drivers are already involved in the Prototype Cup and is looking forward to a successful collaboration with Pirelli as the series developed.