Goodyear sells Cooper Avon assets to Nova, leases Avon motorsport tyre brand
Goodyear executives have confirmed that Turbalvoroco Unipessoal LDA, trading as Nova Motorsport (Nova), will buy “certain assets used in the manufacturing and sale of” Avon-branded motorsport tyres. Nova has also acquired “the brand license, traditionally used in the manufacturing and sale of certain motorsport tyres under the names ‘Avon Motorsport’ and ‘Avon Racing’”. Tyres & Accessories understands that Nova plans to continue the production of some of the Avon Motorsport product range independently from Goodyear.
Continue Reading
Pirelli: F1 teams ‘working hard’ to reduce overheating’ in new cars as Ferrari goes fastest
Pirelli revealed that Formula 1’s teams worked hard on “adapting the new cars to the tyres” in the final pre-season Formula 1 test in Bahrain, focusing on the prevention of overheating. 19 drivers from all the teams completed several long runs, supplying plenty of data to analyse in preparation the 2024, which commences on 29 February at the same circuit. Pirelli said the information gathered from the test is very important, especially to confirm if the aerodynamic load simulations provided by the teams over the winter break have been correlated in reality on track.
Continue Reading
Pirelli looks forward to Bahrain opener for longest Formula 1 season in history
Pirelli continues its stint as exclusive tyre supplier to Formula 1 as it returns to Bahrain for the first round of the 2024 season on Thursday 29 February to Saturday 2 March. This represents a scheduling change for the usual F1 weekend, with two practice sessions on the Thursday, qualifying on Friday, and the race on the Saturday. This will be retained the following weekend in Saudi Arabia. Formula 1 made the change to accommodate the start of Ramadan on the second Sunday of March. Pirelli says Formula 1 teams arrive in Sakhir with plenty of information about how the car and tyre package works on this particularly abrasive track, where traction and braking stability are key to performance: both on a flying lap as well as on longer runs. Pirelli has selected its three hardest compounds for the P Zero tyres it will supply in Bahrain; the C1 and C2 will be the hard and medium compounds for the race, while the C3 is the qualifying option.
Continue Reading
Top finishers fit Dunlop Geomax in FIM E-Xplorer World Cup for electric racing bikes
Five of the top six riders in the opening round of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) E-Xplorer World Cup in Osaka, Japan fit Dunlop Geomax tyres with Team HRC winning ahead of Robbie Maddison Racing thanks to second-place finishes in the male and female classifications. Jorge Zaragoza of Robbie Maddison Racing topped the male standings, while Sandra Gomez of Inde Racing finished top on the female side of the event. The tyre was developed alongside top MXGP riders, as Wim Van Achter, motorsport manager at Dunlop Motorcycle Europe explains: “Dunlop’s vast range of enduro, trials and motocross tyres meant our teams could really tune the tyre choice to suit their innovative electric race bikes.
Continue Reading
Team De Rooy demonstrates solid performance at Dakar 2024 with Goodyear tires and TPMS
There was no win for Team De Rooy, equipped with Goodyear Offroad tyres and the tyre supplier’s TPMS, after 14 demanding days across Saudi Arabia in the Dakar 2024 Rally, but the team celebrated a solid performance, showing resilience, skill, and determination. All three Team De Rooy trucks completed all the stages of the challenging course, assisted by the Goodyear Offroad tyres’ traction and durability on challenging terrains. The integration of Goodyear TPMS played an important role in monitoring tyre pressure and temperature in real time, allowing the team to make dynamic adjustments and respond swiftly to evolving road conditions.
Continue Reading
Pirelli ready for long, ‘demanding and exciting’ GT racing season
Pirelli will commence its GT racing season with the Bathurst 12-hour race in Australia, the first in a season of 400-plus races in 70 championships on five continents ending in December with the six-hour event in Jeddah. Pirelli will cover these events with a team of more than 200 fitters, engineers and others. The Bathurst opener (16-18 February) is also the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, one Pirelli ranks among the toughest in a year including GT World Championship events in Europe, America, Asia, and Australia; the Macau GP, national and international GT4 series, European GT2, the Ferrari Challenge, the McLaren Trophy and TransAm.
Continue Reading
Goodyear “in advanced discussions” on Avon motorsport tyre asset sale
Following the news that Avon’s ex-motorsport head has formed the Nova Motorsport tyre brand, Goodyear has confirmed to Tyres & Accessories that its Cooper Europe operation is “in advanced discussions” relating to the sale of certain Avon motorsport tyre assets.
Continue Reading
Isenhouer Brothers Racing joins Team Yokohama roster on Geolandar tyres at King of the Hammers
Yokohama Tire has added Isenhouer Brothers Racing to its line-up for the annual King of the Hammers race. They will join veteran Team Yokohama members, including Wayne and Kristen Matlock, Levi Shirley, Apdaly Lopez, and Jonathan and Jordan Brenthel, competing on Yokohama Geolandar off-road tyres. The Isenhouer Brothers will compete in the Spec TT class, while Shirley heads up the 4400 class. Both will be on purpose-built Geolandar MT-R 40X13.50R18 tyres. “We are pumped to put these new 40-inch Geolandars to the test, not only on the racetrack but also get out there in the rocks and to do some 4x4 adventuring this year,” Isenhouer said.
Continue Reading SPC Rubber forms new tyre brand Nova Motorsport, appoints ex-Avon motorsport head
UK compounder SPC Rubber Group has formed a new tyre brand targeting the global motorsport market. Nova Motorsport founder and SPC Rubber managing director Paul Hallas said the company will focus “solely on low-volume racing and specialist tyres,” looking forward to announcing its first products and international partnerships in 2024. With a website and social media channels already in place, Nova will take its public bow at Retromobile – The Classic Car Show in Paris (31 January to 4 February 2024, Hall 1, Stand M-002). Nova has also recruited strong segment experience in its leadership team, including former Avon Motorsport head Paul Coates. Nova launches shortly after Goodyear’s closure of the Cooper Tire manufacturing facility in Melksham, the historical home of Avon and its motorsport operations. Nova is headquartered in Wiltshire, the same UK county as Melksham. “Nova”, as will already be apparent to those in the tyre industry, is Avon in reverse, perhaps a nod to a UK brand with a long motorsport heritage, whose future is being reconfigured under its new owner.
Continue Reading
Continental, Extreme E extend partnership
Electric off-road racing championship Extreme E has renewed its partnership with official tyre supplier Continental. The two parties signed an extension agreement on 11 January, a gesture that Extreme E says “solidifies the commitment of both organisations as they continue to advance the world of sustainable motorsport and environmental awareness.”
Continue Reading
Kumho-shod TCR World Tour gains FIA status
Following a one-year hiatus, in 2024 world-level touring car racing returns to the FIA motorsport portfolio. The 2023-launched TCR World Tour gains FIA competition status in its second season and the championship, which exclusively runs on Kumho tyres, will be known as the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour for the next three years.
Continue Reading
Toyo Tires participates in Africa Eco Race
Toyo Tires is working with its distribution partner in Hungary, AKH to support László Bunkoczi who is participating in the 15th edition of the Africa Eco Race. Bunkoczi lined up in the Rally Raid category in Monaco on 30 December. After crossing to Morocco the following day, the Africa Eco race runs over 6000km through Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal before reaching its conclusion in the historic city of Dakar on 14 January.
Continue Reading
Toyo returns to Dakar Rally action
Toyo is supporting the Toyota Auto Body Team for the fourth consecutive year in the 2024 Dakar Rally. The manufacturer has supplied the Toyo Open Country MT/R in size LT285/70R17 116/113P for fitment on the team’s two Toyota Land Cruiser 300 GR. The team will compete over 5,000km of special stage and nearly 8,000km in total before the conclusion of the event in Yanbu on the shores of the Red Sea on 19 January.
Continue Reading
Formula E: Hankook predicts faster lap times in second season
Hankook enters its second season supporting Formula E, and the tenth of the all-electric single-seater series, with the season opener at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City on 12-13 January. The grid of 22 drivers will all compete using the Hankook iON Race tyre. Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook director motorsport, promised the tyre supplier was prepared for faster lap times as teams push the iON Race harder in its second season.
Continue Reading
Lengauer’s Skoda Fabia wins European rally season opener on Pirelli tyres
Pirelli’s rally tyres were used to winning effect at the European season opener, the Jännerrallye in Austria. Michael Lengauers Skoda Fabia took the podium’s top step, leading the top eight positions in the overall standings occupied drivers who used Pirelli tyres for all or part of the race. Lengauer ran the P Zero RA on the Friday in wet asphalt conditions, the Sottozero STZ-B mixed asphalt and snow tyres on the Saturday, and the Sottozero Ice in deeper snow on the Sunday.
Continue Reading