Yokohama-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.
Continue ReadingAlternative tyre strategy helps Vettel to 4th at Malaysian grand prix
While all the frontrunners at the final Malaysian Grand Prix used a similar single-stop tyre strategy, changing from Pirelli P Zero Red supersoft to Yellow soft tyres, Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari reversed the order to support his bid for points from the back of the grid. The German chose to start the race on the soft tyres to try and gain track position, switching to the faster supersoft tyres on the same lap that Red Bull’s Max Verstappen pitted from the lead to change from supersoft to soft. Verstappen won the race from the second row of the grid.
Continue ReadingNew WRC gravel tyre heralds ‘new era’ for Dmack
Dmack has unveiled its first new gravel tread pattern for WRC cars in the FIA World Rally Championship in five years. The DMG+2 has been used since 2012, helping it into the lead in five WRC events and to win 47 gravel stages. It makes way for the new DMG+22 at Rally RACC - Rally de España, where Dmack tyres won their first WRC stage in 2012. The new DMG+22 tyre features the same tread pattern which has been used successfully in WRC 2 and WRC 3 this season. Dmack states the tyre should be more suited to the final three events remaining this year.
Continue ReadingDunlop’s global motorsport family unites to help Macmillan
The global Dunlop Motorsport organisation has taken part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning – dubbed Dunlop’s Fastest Coffee Morning in recognition of the participation of sporting stars – to raise funds and awareness for Macmillan Cancer Support, the brand’s corporate charity. The events taking place today (Friday 29 September) included contributions from Drivers and team members from the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series.
Continue ReadingSuperbike World Championship extends Pirelli official tyre supplier contract to 2020
Pirelli’s contract with promoter-organiser Doma and the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) to be the official tyre supplier to the Superbike World Championship for all classes has been extended by two years to cover the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The technical partnership between the Italian tyre manufacturer and the production bike based series, which started in 2004, is the longest running control tyre supply deal in international motorsport history. The previous contract was due to expire at the end of the 2018 season.
Continue ReadingKristoffersson seals World RX title on Cooper tyres
Johan Kristoffersson has sealed the Cooper tyres supplied 2017 FIA World Rallycross championship with two rounds of the series still to go. The PSRX Volkswagen Sweden driver scored his fifth consecutive event win at the last round in Riga, Latvia to seal the title. The result was also the Volkswagen Polo GTi driver’s ninth podium finish in a row.
Continue ReadingDelphi supports ‘Best of Brakes’ promotion
Service Delphi’s braking vans will both be out through September and October, aiming to visit 600 garages. The campaign will support of The Parts Alliance’s ‘Best of Brakes’ promotion, which is offering six spectacular holiday prizes. The vans remind customers how they can win 25,000 prizes just by buying Delphi brake pads, with a video hosted by three-time BTCC Champion Matt Neal.
Continue ReadingBanner Batteries advocate celebrates 40 years with transit wrap
A long-term advocate of Banner’s automotive battery product range and Groupauto member, ECC Motor Factors of West Yorkshire, has recently celebrated its 40th trading anniversary. And having earlier this year added a new Ford Transit Courier to its delivery vehicle fleet, co-branded and featuring the striking and bold Banner livery, Banner was again on hand to share in ECC’s celebrations.
Continue ReadingMichelin extends fleet deal with MoD rally team
Michelin’s fleet division has extended its relationship with the UK Armed Forces Rally Team (AFRT) – the Ministry of Defence’s only tri-service motorsport squad. The deal will see Michelin continue to supply Latitude Cross and XZL tyres for the team’s seven Land Rover Wolf rally vehicles until at least the end of the 2018 season.
Continue ReadingDmack to supply new WRC gravel tyre at 2017 final trio
FIA World Rally Championship tyre manufacturer Dmack has launched a new gravel tyre, available to competitors at the final three rounds of the 2017 championship. Aimed specifically at WRC cars and competitors, the new DMG+22 gravel tyre will first see action at RACC Rally de Espana next month – equipping Elfyn Evans’ M-Sport World Rally Team Ford Fiesta WRC. The brand hopes to build upon its success this season, having missed victory in Argentina by 0.7 seconds, and setting fastest times on five of the six gravel rallies this season.
Continue ReadingBentley, Lamborghini vie for British GT glory with on Pirelli tyres
The winners of this year’s British GT Championship titles in both the GT3 and GT4 classes will be decided in a two-hour race at Donington Park on Sunday, where all entrants will be equipped with Pirelli tyres. The track, which also hosts the World Superbike Championship, supplied by Pirelli, is only a 14-mile drive from the manufacturer’s Burton-upon-Trent facility, making it something of a home track.
Continue ReadingCataclean sponsors British Motorsport Marshals Club overalls
Cataclean, the fuel and exhaust system cleaner for diesel, petrol and hybrid vehicles, will sponsor the British Motorsport Marshals Club (BMMC) overalls for the next three years. The partnership deepens Cataclean’s involvement in British motorsport, building on the Liverpool company’s sponsorship of DRM Motorsport in the Renault UK Clio Cup Championship. New orders for the distinctive orange, fire-resistant marshals’ overalls will now feature a Cataclean badge, alongside existing sponsors’ branding.
Continue ReadingPirelli brings World Challenge Series, motorsport tech to Project CARS 2 game
Pirelli has joined simulation company Slightly Mad Studios’ Project CARS franchise in a technical, promotional, and marketing partnership. The agreement brings Pirelli’s motorsport and tyre technology, and North America’s premier GT production series, the Pirelli World Challenge, to the second iteration of the game. The series will come with Project CARS 2’s release on 22 September, playable in the in-game career mode, and featuring GT3 cars and their specific liveries. Tracks include Long Beach, Circuit of the Americas, Road America, and the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
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