Andrew is an editor for WhatTyre, Tyrepress, and Tyres & Accessories magazine. He has more than a decade of experience in editing, writing, and journalism.
Dan Zelos was the fastest driver in the field in the Mini Challenge at Oulton Park as he strengthened his push for the drivers championship title. Despite his second race ending early due to a red flag, the talented Davanti Tyres-backed racer from Dereham maintained the momentum gained in his Brands Hatch win last month as he aims for the overall crown this season.
Dunlop rider Romain Febvre scored his first Grand Prix win of the FIM Motocross World Championship season at Lommel, Belgium, on Sunday. The Frenchman shared the podium with fellow Dunlop rider Pauls Jonass, who placed third. Both riders tackled one of the championship’s toughest circuits on Dunlop’s Geomax tyres. Dunlop also continued its success in the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship; Shana van der Vlist won the second round of the season, beating six-time champion Kiara Fontanesi to lead a Dunlop 1-2 result. The brand is by far the most successful tyre brand in WMX competition, having taken Fontanesi or Duncan to the championship win in eight of the nine last seasons.
Heuver is to expand its operations with a new Mounting Centre in Hardenberg. The tyre wholesaler says the new centre will enhance its focus on logistical services, an area in which it says it has particularly grown in recent years. The company is offering truck, agricultural and earthmover tyre fitment and wheel assembly on site, as part of its expanding service offering. Heuver says the assembly service shows it offers more than just tyres, with the centre a “logical continuation of its service.” In addition to the best advice and the right tyre for each application, the company offers customers a huge range from its 57,000m2 warehouse.
Nankang has launched a new winter tyre developed exclusively for the European cold season. The Winter Activa SV-4 will be available on the European market from the third quarter. The tyre will initially be available in 20 sizes from 13 to 21 inches. A second phase with additional sizes will follow during 2022.
Giandomenico Basso beat Italian rally champion Andrea Crugnola and Hungary’s Norbert Herczig to make an all-Pirelli podium at the Rally di Roma Capitale. The round of both the Italian and European championships is contested over 13 asphalt stages, with competitors using the consistent Pirelli RA5 tyres, which contended with high ground temperatures of up to 60 degrees centigrade.
Giti-sponsored truck racing team Holten finished one of the world’s leading extreme off-road events with only one set of Giti tyres. Described as the “Dakar of Europe”, the Rallye Breslau in Poland is a five-day, 1,300km cross-country rally across some of the most difficult terrains. The Netherlands-based team entered a modified Mercedes 1622 800HP and a Scania 4×4 630 in a field of 28 vehicles in the Extreme Trucks category.
Trelleborg has reported a strong second quarter, representing both large sales growth on 2020’s Covid-19 affected second quarter and significant sales growth on the same period in 2019. The company’s three business areas – Industrial Solutions, Sealing Solutions, and Wheel Systems – contributed to this growth, with sales of agricultural and materials handling tyres notably showing a “significant upturn”. However, spiking raw materials costs in the tyre segment have simultaneously affected Trelleborg’s margin on such products. The manufacturer expects gradually implemented price hikes to offset these additional costs.
Kevin Burke Tyres (KBT) has signed an initial three-year distribution partnership with Groupe Michelin brand BFGoodrich. The wholesaler will supply BFGoodrich tyres across the whole of Ireland until at least mid-2024 with the option to extend for a further two years. The deal covers BFGoodrich car, van, SUV and 4×4 tyres, all of which will be stocked for next-day delivery at KBT’s warehouse facility in Athenry, County Galway. The company has stocked “large quantities” of BFGoodrich tyres since 2015, it said, with the new deal representing the latest step in its developing relationship with the brand. The deal follows news from Great Britain that newly appointed UK BFGoodrich 4×4 wholesaler Micheldever Tyre Services has almost doubled its sales of the brand in the last year.
Bridgestone’s tyre retail network First Stop and telematics provider Webfleet Solutions will jointly support the World’s Fastest Shed. First Stop is sponsoring Guinness World Record holder Kevin Nicks and his road-legal outbuilding. Webfleet Solutions has installed its Webfleet fleet management software on the unusual vehicle.
Falken has donated 5,000 euros to the Offenbach-based organisation “von Herzen zu Herzen gemeinnützige GmbH” (the “Heart to Heart” charity). The donation has been shared between two charities supporting children: Theresien Kinder- und Jugendhilfezentrum e.V. (St. Teresa Centre for Aid to Children and Young People) and Förderverein der Mathildenschule (Foundation of the School of Saint Matilda).
The handling, comfort and longevity when fully laden offered by Davanti’s DX440 van tyre helped the brand to become the original equipment specified tyre for London Electric Vehicle Company’s VN5 electric commercial van. The company said it developed the range with the driver at the centre. “It’s important to remember that, if a van is getting new tyres, that could be a sole trader losing money or a fleet unable to respond to as many calls in a day,” said Sean Maddocks, Davanti Tyres’ sales director for the UK and Ireland. “The DX440 is designed to last longer – reducing the number of times van drivers need to replace their tyres. The tread design and compound achieves that without losing sharpness or control – even under full load.”
SD International now offers four van and light commercial tyre patterns for the UK and European tyre market via its Pace and Toledo private brands. Three van patterns are available from the Pace brand – the PC18, Active Power 4S and Antartica 8 – representing the summer, all-season and winter segments respectively; the TL 5000 covers light commercial applications for the Toledo brand.
The significant decline in revenue for global tyre makers based on headwinds from the Covid-19 pandemic was felt most keenly by companies with the greatest exposure to the consumer vehicle tyre markets. (For the effects of the crisis on manufacturers, see our ranking of the world’s top tyre manufacturers in the Company section of our 75th anniversary special issue.) As many countries reduced private mileage considerably with working from home orders and travel restrictions – not to mention the negative effects of measures such as the UK’s MOT freeze, which removed a significant push factor in the market for much of 2020 – car tyre sales last year dropped considerably, though again there were big differences even within the EU27 and UK. Within car tyre segments there were significant differences in the depth of the contraction too. Broadly speaking, the higher value the segment, the better it tended to fare. Pirelli’s financial reporting for 2020, and the subsequent first-quarter growth in 2021, provide a good illustration of how higher performance segments provided increased resilience in these difficult times.
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Michelin has appointed Dan Lamb passenger transport sales manager for Services & Solutions. Lamb’s promotion to the role comes after 27 years with the company. He reports directly to Andrew French, director of Services & Solutions and will be responsible for the commercial aspects of Michelin’s relationship with key fleets in the public transport sector.
Skelmersdale headquartered tyre management specialist DTM, which is backed by Palatine Private Equity, has acquired TyreWatch, Europe’s market-leading provider of real-time tyre monitoring technology. Based in Basingstoke, TyreWatch provides digital tyre management services to monitor and manage the wheels and tyres of HGVs and public service vehicles. Established in 2017, it has grown to support clients across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australia.
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