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Dunlop’s new performance tyre, the Sport Maxx, has been put to the test through the ‘Performance Car of the Year’ programme. Hailed as “the toughest media evaluation programme of its kind,” the annual test, conducted by Car & Driving, the UKs motoring media agency, puts top performance vehicles and their tyres through a series of road and track tests all over Europe.
Volkswagen has selected Matador’s so-called “green tyre” for original equipment on its Polo model.
After fears that a so-called super typhoon would halt the Japanese Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher has won his 13th race of the season. The fact that qualification was more than a little disrupted by an “undriveably” wet track only meant that more emphasis was put on tyres. After the first ever Sunday morning qualification, Michael Schumacher’s Bridgestone equipped Ferrari blew away the opposition.
Williams’ Ralph Schumacher took second place, with Britain’s Jenson Button taking the third podium spot. According to Button: “I went for the two stops because it worked pretty well for me in the last race.” Michelin drivers took the majority of the other point scoring positions.
When the reigning world champion was asked what it felt like to back in winning form, having set a new record for the number of wins in a season, the Ferrari driver commented: “Yeah. It is obviously nice, for other reasons, particularly that it is Bridgestone’s home Grand Prix and we wished to do well for them and we did. We did very superb in being basically fastest all weekend and finally get the win and it is the way to pay back something to our partners.”
Continental is having “big difficulties in Russia.“ According to German media sources the company’s joint venture with Moscow Tyre Plant (MTP) is both taking longer than envisaged and becoming considerably more expensive. Continental board member, Dr Hans-Joachim Nikolin, has been reported as saying the company is even “seriously” considering the implications of its worst-case scenario, withdrawing from the joint venture.
Yokohama Rubber Co, Ltd has announced that its flagship sport tyre Advan Sport has been as the 20 inch option tyre for the Bentley Motors Continental GT. Bentley has adopted the 275/35ZR20 for the Mulliner Driving Specification Continental GT, on both front and rear axles.
Stapletons has announced that it will extend the distribution of Jupiter/Nexen tyres. The company exclusively distributes the South Korean ultra-high performance tyres, which are available in more than .”
This weekend Jarama in Spain hosted the penultimate racing weekend in the truck-racing calendar. While new Goodyear tyres dominate in the Super Race class, in the smaller, Truck Race class both the first and second place drivers had retreads fitted to their axles. For the two most successful drivers at this meeting, Rigdon retreads were the chosen products.
Englishman Stuart Oliver leads the championship with 21 points, ahead of Germany’s Lutz Bernau. The two competitors are the only two drivers that have a chance of becoming the new European Champion at the final race weekend in Le Mans.
Either retreads or new tyres are allowed on the drive axle. On the steering axle retreads are prohibited.
Stapletons has reshuffled its sales team in a move designed to deliver an improved customer service.
This year’s Paris Motor Show saw the unveiling of Ferrari’s new F430, the successor to the 360 Modena.
The inaugural Chinese Grand Prix was certainly a successful one for race winner, Rubens Barichello. The Ferrari driver has now won two consecutive races for the first time in his career.
Goodyear and Dunlop have exhibited a number of new and forthcoming products at the 60th IAA show in Hanover. While they shared exhibition space, the two brands maintained their independent identities and made every effort to affirm the company’s emphasis on economy.
Alliance has released its second quarter financial results, showing a second straight profitable quarter after a succession of 11 negative quarters. Net income amounted to $1.2 million, compared to a $1.1 million net loss in the parallel quarter of 2003. The figures also showed a 30 per cent growth in sales in the first half of 2004 to $ 63.7 million.
Bridgestone has teamed up with competitor Continental to develop an advanced tyre pressure monitoring system for commercial vehicles. The two companies will join forces to mass produce the system which is expected to be released into the market in 2007. The companies are aiming to position the product as a “global standard.”
Petter Solberg has won the Wales Rally GB, claiming his third successive victory in what commentators described as a thrilling final day.
China prepares to stage its first world championship Grand Prix this week as it hosts Formula One for the first time. The 5.451km (3.387-mile) Shanghai International Circuit is the second new venue to appear on the 2004 calendar, after Bahrain. The race is scheduled to last 56 laps; a total distance of 305.256km.
Although Michelin is confident it will perform well, Shanghai will highlight the ability of Formula One teams to react to new situations. Pascal Vasselon, Michelin’s F1 programme manager commented: “Given our experience in Bahrain earlier this year, choosing tyres for a previously unknown circuit such as Shanghai might appear quite routine – but that’s not the case at all. Certain corners at Shanghai have a unique configuration and two of them – which have an almost snail-like profile when viewed from above – are likely to put a greater load on tyres than anywhere else on the calendar.
“Generally, we expect the rate of wear to be fairly even left to right and front to rear, which makes things a little bit easier. From what we can see, the track surface looks fairly smooth and non- abrasive – another little difficulty we had to factor in when finalising the best tyre compromise. When you encounter a new circuit like this, with lots of directional changes, it is best to select compounds that have a slightly broader operational spectrum than usual. And to further minimise any risk of error, we will be taking tyres that have previously been used in racing conditions.”
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