Competing in its 125th anniversary year, Dunlop tyres have had another successful week at the Isle of Man TT. 14 out of 15 podium places used its tyres and three lap records were set in the Superbike, Supersport and Superstock classes respectively.
Before this weekend’s Canadian grand prix, the major F1 tyre story had been the FIA’s decision to make Mercedes and Pirelli appear before an international tribunal based on the suspicion that Mercedes’ use of its 2013 car in a 1,000km tyre test "may constitute a breach" of the series’ rules. Mercedes principal, Ross Brawn has told BBC Sport’s chief F1 analyst Eddie Jordan that "it was a Pirelli test. What we were seeking was privacy not secrecy.”
Sebastian Vettel used two stops to saunter to his 29th career victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada. Vettel started on the P Zero Red supersoft tyre to sprint ahead of a similarly shod top 10 before switching to the P Zero White medium and completing the race with a final stint on this tyre. Despite wet qualifying conditions, Pirelli also completed some testing of its tweaked rear tyres in Friday practice, and Motorsport director Paul Hembery said the manufacturer would analyse the data gathered “over the next few days” before summarising the differences in performance.
A landfill site in Kuwait is the resting place of 7 million used tyres, making it the largest of its kind in the world, according to the Daily Mail. While the Mail points out that such a site couldn’t exist in the UK owing to landfill directive, the newspaper does point out the Kuwaiti site is now actually visible from space.
Maxam Tire International, the Luxembourg-based supplier of all-steel radial OTR and speciality tyres, has totally maxamtire.com. The new-look site’s different sections give details of the company's history and provide an insight into its commitment to quality throughout the manufacturing process.
While it sounds too dramatic to talk about seismic activity in the tyre market, the ongoing long-term effects of the various financial crises are continuing to be felt. At a continental level this has meant continued queries about how the largest tyre makers can better balance supply and demand in Europe. However it is also difficult to say how much of this conjecture is actually manifesting into any kind of practical reality. Indeed, at times like these people can get over-creative in their analyses, along with any legitimate market observations. That said, and without wanting to sound like a seventies pop song, it is as if we can feel the slow undulations of the terra firma under our feet.
According to Deutsche Bank Markets Research, Michelin is expected to announce the closure of its Tours, France truck tyre factory tomorrow. Research analyst Gaetan Toulemonde reports that closure of the 1.2 million tyre per annum capacity plant would be a product of weak volumes in Europe; while the European passenger car tyre market is now six per cent higher than 2007 pre-crisis levels, at 404 million tyres, over the same period the European truck tyre market has dropped eight per cent to 20 million tyres. Continental and Pirelli have already reduced a total of 2 million truck tyres from their European capacity in the last five years, and Michelin’s European truck tyre operations currently only operate at 60 per cent capacity.
At its meeting on 27 May, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd’s Board of Directors confirmed the promotion of Raghupati Singhania from vice-chairman to chairman. Singhania is now chairman and managing director of the company.
Reports of Titan International’s plan to enter the Russian market have been widely reported by that country’s media, and the US tyre maker has released a statement confirming it has, in cooperation with One Equity Partners (OEP) and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), entered into negotiations with Cordiant about a potential investment in Russia. Titan says it hopes to “successfully complete these discussions in the near future.”
Italian sports car manufacturer Maserati has homologated Continental’s ContiSportContact 5 P for the new Quattroporte. This is the first approval the German tyre maker has ever received from Maserati, and the tyre will be supplied in six 19 to 21-inch sizes in line with equipment specifications and engine size. The tyres built specially for the Quattroporte will be marked with the letters “MGT” to avoid confusion with other tyres from the same series.
Bridgestone has launched its latest online marketing campaign, utilising a new website, beeneverywhere.eu, social media and video in its effort to position the brand as “innovative and interactive”. Revolving around exploring the world, the video is set to a soundtrack based on Johnny Cash’s ‘I’ve been everywhere, man’. Jake Rønsholt, general manager, corporate and brand communications at Bridgestone Europe explained: “Part of the beauty of the campaign is that visitors to the main site can do exactly that, on just about any device.
Calibre has announced the launch of the latest addition to its higher end Calibre Couture range, the Potentia. The new rim is designed primarily for the luxury saloon and SUV market, and is available only in a 9×22” size to reflect this.
Maxam Tire International has launched a new all steel radial OTR tyre. The Maxam MS405, an E4 tyre, is aimed specifically at the ADT (Articulated Dump Truck) market and the new MS405 design incorporates an extra deep E4 tread depth, which, combined with the tyre's wide flat profile and reinforced side walls, offers excellent stability, flotation and traction.
Trelleborg and AGCO Corporation have renewed their long-term agricultural tyre development cooperation agreement.
"Following the recognition of Trelleborg as the best EAME (Europe, Africa and Middle East) Supplier in September 2012, this new agreement with AGCO is an important confirmation of our solid business relationship. It provides a firm foundation for the accomplishment of our ambitious future mutual goals,” says Stefano Bettinelli, OE Director at Trelleborg’s Agricultural and Forestry Tyres division.
Hankook Tire Co. is scouting potential sites in South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama for its planned US tyre plant, according to US news sources.
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