Rome, Ga. – Pirelli Tire would like to congratulate Sean Hamblin on earning a Factory Yamaha ride for the 2008 Toyota AMA Motocross Championship season. In addition, Pirelli Tire would also like to say thanks to Sean for his success during the first four races this summer aboard Pirelli tires.

Earlier today Yamaha announced that they signed Hamblin to fill in for the injured Grant Langston and Broc Hepler. Deserving of the ride, Hamblin will build off the success he gained with Pirelli this summer and take the next step in his career.

“We are very proud of Sean and his accomplishments this summer while riding for Pirelli Tire,” said Josh Whitmire, Pirelli’s MX Manager. “This is a great opportunity for Sean and we are happy to see him take this next step in his career. We are glad that we were a part of his success as a privateer and wish him the best of luck as a factory racer.”

While riding for Pirelli Hamblin earned two seventh-place finishes with his best moto finishing being a sixth at Freestone Raceway. Heading into this weekend’s race at Thunder Valley Raceway in Lakewood, Colo., Hamblin will line up on his new Yamaha in 10^th place overall in AMA Motocross point standings.

Hamblin, a former factory Suzuki rider, returned to the Toyota AMA Motocross Championships this summer after competing on the GP circuit in Europe last year.

Pirelli Tire North America specializes in manufacturing and marketing high-performance tires for passenger vehicles, motorcycles, ATV’s and motorsports.  An industry leader in technology and quality, Pirelli operates its highly advanced Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) in Rome, Georgia, to better serve the American OEM and Replacement markets.  For more information please visit:  www.us.pirelli.com.