Toyo tyres win first 3 stages of Dakar 2013
Toyo Tires equipped vehicles have won the opening three stages of the 2013 Dakar rally. Open Country M/T-R tyres won Stages 1 – 3 thanks to Team Qatar Red Bull. This year’s Dakar rally runs 5 – 20 January and is nearly 5,000 miles in length. The route runs southward from Lima, Peru to Santiago, Chile.
Continue ReadingPirelli names 2013 Star Driver
Last month Mark Donnelly was named as Pirelli Star Driver 2013 and therefore the winner of a fully-paid drive in the 2013 British Rally Championship. According to the company, Donnelly impressed a panel of four judges with his maturity, technical know-how, media awareness and raw talent behind the wheel.
Continue ReadingFirestone IndyCar supply deal extended
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations has supplied Firestone tyres to the IZOD IndyCar Series since the league began in 1996, and the tyre maker recently announced it will remain the series’ sole tyre supplier through the 2018 race season. “Firestone performance and safety have been synonymous with IndyCar racing for more than 100 years,” commented Al Speyer, executive director, Firestone Racing. “We are excited about the opportunity to continue the on going success of this series by extending the Firestone brand’s history in the sport through the 2018 season. We treasure the relationships we have fostered with the league, drivers, owners and various other partners involved with the sport through the years, and look forward to continuing our legacy of high performance for which Firestone tires are known.”
Continue ReadingPirelli previews competitive BSB grid, following largest commitment to series
Pirelli says that the way the grid for the British Superbike Championship is shaping up, 2013 should be another competitive season. Reigning champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne will go head-to-head with the returning Ryuichi Kiyonari as title contenders, and Pirelli says that the battle will decide the most successful rider in BSB history. The Italian tyre supplier now supports Superbike, Supersport, Superstock 1000, Superstock 600, Triumph Triple Challenge and the Ducati 848 Challenge classes as sole tyre supplier, making 2013 its most committed year in the prestigious championship.
Continue ReadingAF Corse takes second Gulf 12 Hours win on Avon tyres
Italian racing team AF Corse claimed its second Gulf 12 Hours win on Avon tyres in 2012 at the Yas Marina Circuit last week, in the final race of the Cooper brand’s 2012 motorsport season. The AF Corse team, which recently announced its entry to the Avon Tyres British GT Championship in 2013, took the spoils by the excitingly small margin of 2.6 seconds in the first Gulf 12 Hours Race, held at the Herman Tilke-designed circuit back in January. Victory in the second event of the year was decidedly more convincing, with the lead AF Corse Ferrari crossing the line nearly half a minute clear of the rest of the field in its second visit to the Emirati capital.
Continue ReadingBridgestone Americas’ motorsport head retires
After 38 years with the company, the executive director of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations’ motorsports activities will retire next year. At present no successor has been named.
Continue ReadingPirelli confirms attendance at Autosport Show
Pirelli has confirmed it will appear at the annual Autosport International Show in Birmingham where the Italian tyre manufacturer will showcase a motorsport-focused display that includes the new Pirelli Star Driver Citroen DS3 R3.
Continue ReadingAvon to supply Lotus on Track
From 2013 onwards, the Lotus on Track Racing Drivers Club will use the Avon Motorsport ZZR range as its control tyre. The track day club has signed a three-year tyre supply agreement with Avon Tyres covering its race championships across the UK and Europe. Avon will supply the ZZR for competitors in the Lotus Elise Trophy and the Lotus Cup Europe; during the deal’s first year it will also provide wet weather racing tyres.
Continue ReadingThrills and spills in Macau
Three decades after Japanese tyre manufacturer Yokohama began supplying tyres to the Macau Grand Prix, the company returned to the glitz and glamour of what is the Chinese equivalent of Las Vegas to celebrate 30 years of partnership with the event. In order to mark the occasion, Tyres & Accessories was there to smell the rubber and witness the racing action as well as report on the race-to-road developments of the tyre supplier (see separate article in December's magazine for more on this).
Continue ReadingRutter dominant in Macau, taking eighth victory
Michael Rutter secured his place in the history books taking an eighth victory in Macau and dominating the two-wheel action. Using the latest generation Pirelli Diablo Superbike slick tyres from the company’s ‘road race’ programme, Rutter opted for a harder rear compound for his SMT Honda Fireblade which lasted throughout this unique race at the former Portuguese colony. Runner-up Martin Jessopp (Riders Ducati) chose the softer option rear to record a fastest lap at this final International event of the year.
Continue ReadingYokohama-shod trucks compete in Baja 1000
Yokohama Tire Corporation-sponsored off-roaders Cameron and Heidi Steele are competing in the storied SCORE Tecate Baja 1000, at Mexico's Baja Peninsula, betweenNovember 14-17. The Steeles, along with their Desert Assassins teammates, will race on various Geolandar tyres along the demanding course. The 45th running of the race goes from Ensenada to La Paz and is the SCORE (Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts) racing series season finale.
Continue ReadingDunlop looking forward to refreshed European Le Mans Series, exits ALMS
Dunlop is looking forward to the newly refreshed European Le Mans series, describing it as a “major step forward in securing the future of endurance racing in Europe.” But this also means that the company will not supply the 2013 American Le Mans Series.
Continue ReadingYokohama celebrates three decades as Macau Grand Prix tyre supplier
Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., is to supply Advan racing tyres to the 59th Macau Grand Prix which will take place in Macau (China) from 15-18 November. Doing so for the 2012 event represents the 30th consecutive year that Yokohama has been sole tyre supplier. The final rounds of the 2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) and GT ASIA will be staged concurrently. Yokohama also supplies tyres to these series.
Continue ReadingMcLaren Electronic Systems to power new Formula E races
McLaren Electronic Systems Limited has announced that it will provide the electric engine, transmission and electronics for cars that will participate in the FIA’s exciting new Formula E race series. McLaren will be a key partner of Spark Racing Technology, which is led by Frédéric Vasseur and is dedicated to the creation and assembly of the electric cars participating in the FIA World Championship Formula E.
Continue ReadingUS Grand Prix visits new track for Pirelli and for teams
When teams arrive at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas for the forthcoming US Grand Prix, they will be stepping onto a newly-built track that has never been raced on before. Tyre supplier Pirelli is bringing the P Zero Silver hard and P Zero White medium tyres: a reasonably conservative compound choice for a circuit where there are still a number of unknown factors when it comes to tyre performance.
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