Dunlop announces 2012 Art Car Competition winner

Goodyear Dunlop has announced the winner of its 2012 Dunlop Art Car Competition, a contest to find innovative designs for the Dunlop-sponsored JMW Motorsport Ferrari F458 GT2 car. Egidijus Gužauskas from Lithuania provided the winning design, featuring a paint-splash effect. The car will first race in its new livery at the 24 Hours of Le Mans where Dunlop has a long and successful history to its name, having 34 victories at the iconic endurance race.

Entries included a wide variety of interpretations including animal print, camouflage and multitudes of colour and tributes to the British flag in honour of Dunlop and the UK team and drivers. 2012 is the fourth year of the competition and the judges were less prescriptive with their brief, looking for a more artistic rendition than in previous years. 13 countries took part in the competition with four finalists chosen from 175 entrants. A jury and the public decided the outcome following a vote on the Dunlop Art Car website. All four finalists will receive a framed print of their design.

The jury comprised: Sanjay Khanna, managing director, Dunlop Europe; Jean-Felix Bazelin, general manager, Dunlop Motorsport; Jim McWhirter, JMW team owner; and Mik Whiting, 2011 Dunlop Art Car Competition winner. Gužauskas titled his prize winning work ‘Speed Rhythm’ and is his interpretation of Dunlop tyres, speed, contrast, art and paint. The design is a clever portrayal of tyre treads over Dunlop yellow bodywork with speed being demonstrated by paint being seen to ‘run’ across the car. The artwork will be seen by over 200,000 spectators and millions of TV viewers worldwide when the car races at Le Mans in June.

Egidijus will get to see the unveiling of his masterpiece on Saturday 2 June at the Le Mans test. The car will then be taken for a photo shoot under the iconic Dunlop Bridge on the circuit. An awards dinner will follow. Egidijus will also see behind the scenes at the Le Mans test event the following day, receive a pair of tickets to the Le Mans 24H race itself and 1,000 Euros.

Gužauskas said: “I have been a creative person from my early years. I started to practice large size paintings and murals in 2000. It is an interesting way to express myself and let out my creativity, and a chance to make something beautiful. I’m always interested in trying something new and exciting; the Dunlop Art Car Competition was an excellent opportunity to express myself on a sports car.”

Sanjay Khanna, managing director, Goodyear Dunlop, commented: “We are delighted by the entries we received this year and it was rewarding to see how race fans and designers alike were inspired to create great designs, especially the more artistic interpretations. The jury feel that Egidijus’ entry is a worthy winner because it maintains the Dunlop brand by use of colour while bringing in an artistic element with the tyre tread and paint splashes. It will be very eye-catching and I am looking forward to seeing the car take to the track.”

The other three finalists were Stephane Paduan of France, Jill Pasch from Germany and Belgian entrant Arthur Van Synghel. Arthur’s design, depicting elements of the mechanics beneath the body as part of the artwork, received the highest public vote and received an automatic entry to the final stage.

Dunlop is providing tyres for at least 24 of the 55 cars that will start the Le Mans 24H on 16 June. In addition to the JMW Ferrari, which has already won the opening round on the European Le Mans Series in GTE Pro, ones to watch include Greaves Motorsport who won the 2011 Le Mans LMP2 class.