British grand prix strategies ‘out of the window’ following rain: Pirelli
Any tyre strategies planned ahead of the British grand prix at Silverstone were forced to be reconsidered after a torrential rain shower forced the entire grid to start the race behind a safety car on Pirelli’s Cinturato Blue full wet tyre. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won for the fourth time at home using three different Pirelli tyre compounds. When the safety car came in after five laps, a number of drivers went straight onto the Cinturato Green intermediate, while the leaders took advantage of a virtual safety car to switch to the intermediate shortly afterwards.
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Silverstone could not be more different to Austria – Pirelli
The British grand prix takes place at Silverstone the weekend after Pirelli’s visit to Austria, but the manufacturer’s tyre selection is an indicator of the different challenges posed by famous circuit. The Formula One tyre supplier will bring its P Zero Orange hard, White medium, and Yellow soft tyres to the UK – its hardest possible tyre selection – the week after supplying its softest selection to teams in Austria. Accordingly, Pirelli states tha the two events “could not be more different.”
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Pirelli lays out F1 test calendar for wider 2017 tyres
Pirelli has revealed its first test of the new, wider 2017 specification Formula One tyres will be on 1-2 August at Ferrari’s Fiorano circuit, near Modena in northern Italy. The tyre supplier will use a modified Ferrari SF15-T, at the test, during which the track will be artificially dampened in order to carry out tests with Cinturato intermediate and full wet tyres. Testing will continue immediately on 3-4 August, when Red Bull will test the new P Zero slick tyres at Mugello.
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Michelin releases details of new Formula E tyre
For the third season of Formula E, Michelin – the series’ tyre partner since its September 2014 inception – will provide a second generation of the Pilot Sport EV tyre. Like the original Pilot Sport EV, whose specifications were inspired by similarities with road tyres, Michelin will see the new version as an opportunity to develop technologies applicable to its consumer product range.
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Pirelli travelling to familiar European Spa for British GT
The British GT Championship remains open to Europe in a way seemingly at odds with just over half the UK, as it ventures to Spa-Francorchamps for the fifth event of the season. Though most of the British drivers won’t be as familiar with the Belgian circuit as the season’s UK tracks, Pirelli – in its first season exclusively supplying the championship – will supply a tyre, its P Zero DHC, that has completed many thousands of laps there at the Spa 24 Hours over recent seasons. Pirelli and its engineers will be at Spa on the Tuesday prior to the British GT races for the test day of the 2016 24 Hours, which takes place at the end of the month.
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Subaru success for TerraClean-sponsored Turkington
Double British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) champion, Colin Turkington, sponsored by TerraClean, scored Subaru’s first ever Dunlop MSA BTCC victory on 5 June at Oulton Park as well as winning the opener at Croft Circuit 18 – 19 June.
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Hamilton victorious, Pirelli investigates Vettel tyre issue
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was victorious in Austria, winning the Austrian Grand Prix from pole position using a two-stop strategy. Teammate Nico Rosberg collided with Hamilton as the Briton passed him on the final lap of an action-packed grand prix, having used the timing of his pit stop tyre strategy to boost his position, “undercutting” a number of drivers including his team mate (who started from pole) to lead the race. Following contact with Hamilton, Rosberg’s car sustained front wing damage, leading to his fourth place finish. More worryingly for tyre supplier Pirelli was the blowout that ended Sebastian Vettel’s grand prix, the causes of which the manufacturer said it was investigating with the constructor, Ferrari.
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Dmack ‘delighted’ after securing first WRC podium
World Rally Championship tyre supplier Dmack secured its best ever FIA World Rally Championship result and first podium at Rally Poland. The Carlisle based brand’s Drive Dmack team lead for the majority of its 70th WRC event; Estonian driver Ott Tänak and co-driver Raigo Mõlder finished second after a dramatic final day. Dick Cormack, Dmack managing director, said: “It’s certainly been a weekend to remember for everyone at DMACK. We’ve been striving to compete at this level and this event marks a real turning point for us. Ott and Raigo have stunned everyone this weekend with their pace and the result has driven our enthusiasm to reach the top.”
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Michelin ready with next-generation Formula E tyres
Launched in September 2014, the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship an on 18-inch, patterned Michelin Pilot Sport EV tyres. Work on developing new tyres for the second Formula E season had already begun when the FIA asked Michelin to continue with the same-spec tyre for the season in order to enable teams use a known tyre when developing their cars to meet new, less restrictive technical regulations. Work on the second-generation tyre nevertheless continued, and Michelin Motorsport says this means “two steps forward will have been taken” in regards to tyre development when its new tyre finally debuts at the start of the third Formula E season.
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Pirelli to take softest compounds to Austria grand prix
Pirelli will bring its three softest P Zero F1 compounds – soft, supersoft and ultrasoft – to the Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, describing the track as “probably the closest that Formula One comes to a rally stage.” Big changes of elevation and a sequence of fast and twisty corners coalesce with unpredictable weather and the grand prix’s roots in the 1969 Osterreichring, which gives the track quite an old-school character.
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Pirelli signs new FIA Action for Road Safety campaign agreement
The FIA and Pirelli have signed a new four-year agreement in support of the FIA’s Action for Road Safety campaign. As a global partner of the campaign, Pirelli will promote the FIA’s ‘10 Golden Rules’ for road safety through all of its networks. Pirelli will also organise training programmes, as well as projects to raise awareness on safe driving, in collaboration with a selection of FIA Member Clubs.
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