Goodyear tyre supplier to Pure ETCR all-electric touring car series

The motorsport calendar now includes an all-new event – the world’s first all-electric, multi-brand touring car championship.  Pure ETCR vehicles will be equipped with a Williams Advanced Engineering battery unit and a 500kW Magelec Propulsion powertrain – the equivalent of a staggering 680bhp – that drives the rear wheels and enables 0 to 100km/h acceleration in just 3.2 seconds. This torquey power will be delivered to the racetrack via products supplied by one of Pure ETCR’s founder partners – Goodyear.

Having been selected as official tyre supplier, Goodyear is developing a bespoke tyre for Pure ETCR that will incorporate a combination of technologies inspired by its latest electric vehicle tyres and the new Eagle F1 SuperSport ultra-high-performance range. The definitive specification of tyre will be unveiled this spring, ahead of the first Pure ETCR event at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July.

Goodyear says it will employ a proven motorsport construction, but with a treaded design that allows Pure ETCR drivers to use the same tyres in both wet and dry conditions. The absence of a separate rain tyre reduces the number of tyres that need to be taken to each event, and Goodyear emphasises that this aligns with its and Pure ETCR’s mission of working together to find sustainable solutions for the future of mobility and motorsport.

Mike Rytokoski, vice-president and chief marketing officer, Goodyear Europe, comments: “Goodyear is a leader in electric vehicle tyre development. In Europe, half of our original equipment tyre developments are for EVs and hybrids.

“We bring a great deal of experience to ETCR in developing tyres for electric vehicles. High-performance road electric vehicles have very different needs to their petrol or diesel equivalents. They are heavier and have more torque, delivered immediately. Goodyear has developed tyres that can cope with this instant power delivery, delivering high grip and traction hand in hand with low rolling resistance to increase range and efficiency. Our partnership with Pure ETCR is much more than just supplying race tyres. Together, we will use racing to develop technology to thrill the next generation of high-performance driver.”

Pure ETCR will be promoted by Eurosport Events; the same organisation behind the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup, which Goodyear will also supply in 2020, as well as the FIM World Endurance Championship. Pure ETCR will feature high-performance production-based cars representing numerous manufacturers.

The event format is based around a number of short, action-packed, wheel-to-wheel heats building towards a Grand Final. A format such as this requires tyres that can provide instant performance. For Goodyear, the focus will be on ensuring the tyres have rapid warm-up times as well as the consistency to be raced hard throughout the event. This means the drivers can go flat out from the very beginning of a race.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Goodyear to Pure ETCR as a founding partner of the series,” states François Ribeiro, head of Eurosport Events. “Goodyear has a unique racing legacy and is all about performance and innovation; a perfect partner for our new modern electric racing flagship.

“This venture perfectly complements our partnership with Goodyear in WTCR, which we also expect to be highly successful,” Ribeiro continues. “With a bespoke high-performance, all-weather design, fewer tyres need to be produced for Pure ETCR and this aligns perfectly with our sustainability commitments. We have no doubt that Goodyear will be a first-class partner on the technical and marketing fronts of Pure ETCR, a great platform to activate Goodyear #backtoracing.”

Goodyear’s return to motorsport

Since the announcement of Goodyear’s return to international motorsport last summer, the tyre manufacturer has taken an FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 win with Jota Sport, and Jackie Chan DC Racing heads the title race. Goodyear’s comeback also includes becoming the official tyre supplier for FIA World Touring Car Cup, returning to UK motorsport (as BTCC sole tyre supplier) and German motorsport, as well as supplying tyres to leading European Le Mans Series teams.

The tyres Goodyear develops for Pure ETCR will incorporate a combination of technologies inspired by the new Eagle F1 SuperSport as well as its latest electric vehicle tyres