Mark Higgins demonstrated his supreme driving skill to break the Isle of Man TT races circuit record for the second time in three days on Saturday.
The three-time British Rally Champion, driving a US production-spec Subaru WRX STI, prepared by TEG Sport, set a new record on Thursday when he lapped in 113.5mph but went even quicker second time around on Saturday, lapping in 19m37s at an average speed of 115.3mph.
The achievement was made all the more impressive by the fact that he was running on the same set of Pirelli P Zero Trofeo tyres that he'd used two days earlier. The road-legal track tyres designed to give high performance cars grip and handling at high speeds and with minimal wear, Higgins decided to use them for a second time.
“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 tyre. These have proved a point: to do a 115mph average on these, it's nearly unbelievable.”
Paul Hembery, director of motorsport at Pirelli, congratulated the Manx-born driver for his achievement and for showing the incredible performance that can come from the road-legal tyres.
“We were sure that in a modern car on slick tyres that this record could be easily beaten. However, driving on road-legal tyres is a different matter. For the record to be broken is fantastic, but to average 115mph on used tyres is unbelievable. This really proves what a fantastically competitive, durable and long-lasting tyre the Pirelli P Zero is. We offer our congratulations to Mark, Subaru and TEG Sport.”
