Falken Tyres Show New FK452 at Max Power Live

Falken Tyres attendance at Max Power Live (at the NEC.), said to be the “Fastest, loudest car show ever”, lived up to expectations according to the company. Inside the halls were filled with stands and bursting with customised cars. Outside was the Speed Arena where people could watch the cars in action.

The Falken team designed their exhibit to stand out and, according to company staff it was constantly busy as a result. The Falken girls once again drew in the crowds by giving people signed posters and having their photograph taken. In addition GT4, the Playstation computer game that features the Falken Skyline, had queues of people waiting to play.

The Team Falken GB Nissan 200SX also helped to pull in the crowds and continuously had people snapping photographs of it and taking away posters of the car. A DVD of the 200SX drifting shown on a huge plasma screen demonstrated what the car looked like in action. A competition to spend a day on the racetrack learning how to drift in the Falken Nissan also proved to be an enticing contest and got more than a thousand entries.

“The people visiting the show seemed genuinely interested in Falken and wanted to know more about the tyres. The mixture of a fantastic looking stand, the girls, the game, the freebies and the car drew in thousands of people who now know much more about Falken tyres,” company representatives told Tyres & Accessories.

Team Falken GB competes in D1GB UK Drifting Championship

Drift specialists, Team Falken GB were also on hand at Max Power. The drift team came about after Falken experienced success in the American D1 championship. Then, earlier this year, Falken High Performance Tyres, launched a team to compete in the D1GB UK drifting Championship.

Team Falken driver and Drift Academy principal, John Chambers, is enthusiastic about the team’s performance “We have two drift-spec Nissan 200SX S14 coupes – and they’re looking fantastic. The competition in D1 is pretty hot and we shall be doing all we can to come out on top.”

Chambers, who draws on a wealth of experience in saloon car and endurance racing, is also keen to give drifting fans the best possible spectator experience.

Since it’s origins on the mountain roads of Japan, Drifting has seen a rapid growth in popularity in recent years, particularly in America where championships D1, and rival series Formula D, are attracting thousands of competitors and a huge fan base. Unlike many forms of motorsport where outright speed and quickest finishing times are key, Drifting places an emphasis on style with competitors winning points for technique and ‘show factor.’

2006 is the inaugural year for D1 in the UK and the series comprises of five rounds held at Rockingham, Silverstone and Knockhill. Team Falken GB is the largest professional team to take part in the series and has received additional sponsorship from Drift Academy, Millers Oils, Rota Wheels, Performance 3000 Tuning, Sabelt, Horsham Developments, AeroCatch and Japanese Performance Magazine.

Team Falken GB are also planning a 2006 competition to win a fully prepared Nissan 200SX drift car a plus training day at Drift Academy.

The FK-452

Earlier this summer Falken Tyres, in association with Micheldever – the UK’s largest tyre wholesaler, rewarded its 40 top performing dealers from around the country with an unforgettable day with Palmersport at Bedford Autodrome. The event was organised as the UK launch of the company’s latest flagship tyre, the FK452.

Guests were treated to a lesson in going sideways by the Team Falken GB drifting team who certainly knew how to put the FK452 and Nissan 350Zs through their paces.

Sam Isida, Falken general manager for Europe said: “The whole event was very professional, of the very highest quality and was well received by everyone. It also demonstrated how strong the relationship between the customer and Micheldever/Southam Tyres really is.” These words were echoed by Mike Hawes, Falken brand manager for Micheldever who said: “The day was a fantastic success and a chance for all the dealers to get together at the best hospitality day in the country. As well as being fun, ideas for the future were discussed which can only take Micheldever and Falken to an even higher level as the independent tyre retailer is our future, and we want to LISTEN to all their plans and thoughts to ensure we deliver what the customer wants.”