Yokohama sponsors ‘hardcore off-road rally based on Dakar’ in Sonora desert
Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC) has become the title sponsor of the 2018 Sonora Rally. The fourth running of the popular “hardcore off-road rally” in Mexicos Sonora desert takes place 19-24 March.
Continue ReadingDTM, Hankook to guest star at Super GT finale
Following the season finale at the Hockenheimring in Germany last month, the DTM touring car championship and exclusive tyre partner Hankook are heading for extra time in the land of the rising sun. On 11 and 12 November, the three competing manufacturers, Audi, BMW and Mercedes AMG, will be present at the final of the Super GT series in Motegi/Japan, returning the visit to Hockenheim made by Super GT.
Continue ReadingDebut WRC victory on home event the ‘culmination of 7 years’ work’ for Dmack
After seven years and 88 events, Dmack has won its first FIA World Rally Championship event – on its home round at Dayinsure Wales Rally GB. Elfyn Evans became the first Welsh driver to win the UK’s round of the championship after he and co-driver Dan Barritt dominated the demanding event – leading from start to finish and winning by 37.3 seconds.
Continue ReadingPirelli congratulates Hamilton on 4th F1 title, Verstappen on ultra/supersoft win in Mexico
Yesterday’s Mexican Grand Prix delivered Lewis Hamilton his fourth drivers’ title, not to mention a moment of bated breath in the very first round as Hamilton’s Mercedes made contact with the Ferrari of closest title contender Sebastian Vettel. The collision, comments Pirelli, added an extra tactical element to the race, as both protagonists were forced to deviate from the expected one-stop strategy.
Continue ReadingGoodyear-shod Team De Rooy wins Rallye OiLibya Maroc
Team De Rooy, using standard Goodyear truck tyres, took first, second and third places in the Truck Class of the Rallye OiLibya Maroc this month. The Team De Rooy Iveco Powerstar 4x4 of Federico Villagra, Adrian Yacopini and Ricardo Torlaschi not only won the Truck Class but also the overall Open/SSV classification. Two other Team De Rooy Iveco Powerstar 4x4s took second and third places in the Truck Class, finishing fourth and sixth overall in the Open/SSV classification.
Continue ReadingFalken concludes best VLN season to-date, shows off winning car designs
The 2017 VLN Endurance Championship is, states Falken Tyre Europe, its most successful season to date. The win by the Falken Motorsports BMW M6 GT3 in the fourth race of the season gave the tyre maker its first overall victory since the start of its Nürburgring commitment in 1999. The Porsche 911 GT3 R team added two more podium finishes later in the season. The final race of the season took place on the weekend with Falken Motorsport team’s Porsche 911 GT3 R, driven by Klaus Bachler and Romain Dumas, taking fourth place. Peter Dumbreck and Stef Dusseldorp had a great race in their BMW M6 GT3 coming from behind to finish in 11th place overall.
Continue ReadingELMS 2017: G-Drive Racing & JMW Motorsport take titles on Dunlop tyres
Dunlop has congratulated G-Drive Racing after the latter was named European Le Mans Series (ELMS) champion for this year after the final round of the series this past weekend. The tyre maker comments that G-Drive Racing and the other Dunlop-shod teams delivered strong performance in the open-tyre LMP2 class, with all six rounds of the series won by a car racing on Dunlop tyres. Praise was also showered upon JMW Motorsport, the team crowned champion of the all-Dunlop GTE class.
Continue ReadingMotoGP – Michelin tyre supply for 5 further seasons
Last year, Michelin made its MotoGP ‘comeback’ after an absence of eight years. Based on the experiences of the 2016 and 2017 seasons, series organiser Dorna Sports has now confirmed the tyre maker’s status as official supplier of tyres to the MotoGP World Championship for five additional seasons over and above the existing arrangement. The contract’s extension until 2023 was announced on Saturday at the Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in the presence of Pascal Couasnon, Michelin motorsport director, and Carmelo Ezpeleta, chief executive officer of Dorna Sports.
Continue ReadingRally Legend is back, with Pirelli as exclusive tyre supplier
Pirelli is once again the exclusive tyre supplier of Rally Legend, a festival of rallying that will unite 15 world rally champions and their most famous cars – as well as many other stars of the sport.
Continue ReadingHeroes never run out of energy: Mutlu launches Justice League marketing campaign
Turkish battery manufacturer Mutlu Battery has called upon the services of an unlikely team to promote its range. Thanks to a partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, on behalf of DC Entertainment, the DC Justice League Super Heroes have been tasked with representing Mutlu as part of a new marketing campaign.
Continue ReadingYokohama supplying Macau Grand Prix again
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. is once again supplying specialist racing tyres to the Macau Grand Prix. The 64th Macau Grand Prix to be held in Macau (China) 16-19 November 2017. Yokohama Rubber supplied tyres for this event for 33 straight years until 2015. This year marks the 34th time the Company will support the Macau Grand Prix. Yokohama tyres will be the control tyre for the event’s main race, the FIA F3 World Cup, and for the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) race. In addition, they will be the tyre of choice for many cars competing in the event’s support races.
Continue ReadingSofter Pirelli P Zero F1 tyre line-up for the Japanese grand prix at Suzuka
Pirelli has continued its late-season trend of introducing softer Formula One compounds than in 2016 with its selection for the Japanese grand prix at Suzuka. Mario Isola, head of car racing, says that “this is particularly pertinent” at Suzuka, “as it’s one of the most challenging tracks for tyres of the entire year, with a very big emphasis on lateral loads that can cause thermal degradation if the tyres are not properly managed.
Continue ReadingYokohama-backed Ed Fossey takes 1400 BTRDA rally championship title
Former recipient of the Yokohama Next Big Step award Ed Fossey has secured his maiden championship in his first full year of rallying. Fossey won the 1400 BTRDA rally championship title at the Trackrod Stages rally in Yorkshire on Saturday, 30 September. After taking several class podiums already this season, Fossey and his co-driver Chris Shapre-Simkiss knew that a class victory in their Yokohama-shod Toyota Yaris would be enough to clinch the 2017 title.
Continue ReadingDunlop to tackle Far, Middle East challenges in last 18 hours of 2017 World Endurance
Dunlop is preparing for the final three World Endurance Championship events of 2017, with 6 Hour races in Fuji, Shanghai, and Bahrain. In LMP2, the teams will have the medium and medium-plus options for the remaining three rounds. Although the class is open in terms of tyre competition, all teams have chosen to compete on Dunlop tyres. Tyre choice in the GTE class will vary across the three available compounds depending on manufacturer and track. This is the first year with the GTE Pro class tyre restrictions in place which necessitates double stinting, and combined with the extreme conditions of the final three tracks, will make set-ups particularly critical.
Continue ReadingGrasser Lamborghini wins Pirelli supported Blancpain GT titles after Mercedes win
The GRT Grasser Racing Team claimed Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and overall titles with a third-place finish in the final race at Barcelona with its Lamborghini Huracan GT3. The result gave Grasser’s Mirko Bortolotti, Christian Engelhart and Andrea Caldarelli the drivers’ Endurance title, while Bortolotti and Engelhart became the overall Blancpain GT Series drivers’ champions, which also considers results in the Sprint Cup.
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