Autosport Show 2010
Hankook is set to unveil a raft of motorsport plans at Autosport International in January, building on its successful rallying programme this year. Motorsport manager Mike Patterson said the company, which has its UK headquarters in Daventry, is currently finalising plans to support both race and rally programmes for 2006.
Following on from the success of the MPH show, the Fulda Exelero feature in a Drift Team demonstration run by Collins Autosport Ltd at the forthcoming Race of Champions at the Stade de France in Paris.
The Race of Champions pitches the best circuit racers against the best off road drivers in the world to determine who is the fastest. Using identical equipment and track, drivers can prove themselves based on their talent alone and a packed Stade de France will see the winner rewarded with the title “The Champion of Champions.”
In the last 12 months Goodyear Dunlop UK has embarked on a multi-million pound TV advertising campaign, rejuvenated its Dunlop brand and made a number of key personnel changes. However, the most recent news is that Goodyear Dunlop is planning a “significant investment programme” for its Hi-Q retail network.
Dunlop Tyres has been highly commended by marketing magazine, winning recognition in two categories. In the 2005 awards Dunlop has been presented with the marketing design ‘Award’ in the Sport and Leisure category and was ‘Highly Commended’ for Advertising and Sponsorship.
January’s Aftermarket Show will “depict all the key sectors of the UK aftermarket,” say organisers, with exhibitors present from each target area.
More than 50 exhibitors will service the event’s chosen visitor categories including: Accessory retailers, motor factors, distributors, independent garages, fast-fits, body shops and franchises. In addition to repeat exhibitors from previous years, The Aftermarket Show has attracted new companies, from each sector of the aftermarket industry.
In January 2006, Falken High Performance Tyres will again be present when the doors open at the Aftermarket Show. At the Falken stand in the main hall visitors will be able to examine the new FK452 premium tyre, and the T110. Falken Tyres UK website will also be on show allowing visitors access to the dealer locator system, enabling them to find their local Falken supplier.
Another highlight will be the attendance of the Falken Girls who will be signing copies of their very own Falken Calendars and Posters. The stand will also include a race car simulator, featuring the Gran Turismo 4 computer game. From here visitors will be able to drive the Falken Nissan Skyline GT-R around the famous 20.8 kilometre long Nurburgring track.
Fulda is planning to showcase the powerful Maybach Exelero when it exhibits at the forthcoming Autosport International 2006 show in January. The vehicle’s appearance on the Fulda stand will represent the one-off UHP car’s first visit to the UK. Of course the car will be fitted with the latest Fulda Exelero tyres.
The Aftermarket Show has launched a new website to provide visitors and exhibitors with further details about the industry event.
The website, www.theaftermarketshow.com offers information about the show’s exhibitors, conferences and seminars, and facilities at the event. The site will also allow visitors to pre-register in the forthcoming months leading up to the event.
The Aftermarket Show has signed up a number of new exhibitors say organisers, as the campaign to book potential exhibitors is intensified.
One of the new exhibitors includes Beissbarth UK. Managing director, Philip Hodges, said: “As a supplier of automotive service equipment to garage workshops, we believe that The Aftermarket Show is the ideal avenue for us to unveil and demonstrate our next-generation products to the garage and consumer.
“The event has some very exciting plans for its ongoing development and we are determined to play an active role in this, championing the cause for the garage equipment sector.”
The Aftermarket Show, has appointed Sam Gilbert as sales manager in preparation for next year’s show which will run in January at Birmingham’s NEC.
Gilbert, who has a background in publishing, exhibitions and also in the automotive industry in both the car and commercial vehicle sectors, will be responsible for recruiting new exhibitors.
Commenting on his new role, Gilbert said: “The aftermarket wants and deserves an all-encompassing industry event and we are working with all aspects of the industry to deliver this. We are developing the event every year and, for 2006, are giving The Aftermarket Show a real identity of its own with a dedicated entrance, signage and coloured flooring in hall 6, differentiating it from Autosport International.”
Fulda’s high performance tyre, Attiro, has topped the medium/large car category in the recent Which? tyre tests.
Formula 1 supplier, Bridgestone, has denied speculation of a major problem with excessive tyre wear. The denial follows last week’s Valencia testing session where Ferrari lingered in the midfield while Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello reportedly complained about a lack of durability. “We got the data we wanted to get,” technical manager Hisao Suganuma told Autosport. The Japanese team then went on to deny that the Valencia specification even nearly resembles the tyre the team will use for qualifying and the Australian Grand Prix. “We are happy with the (pre-season) data we have so far,” he added.
Pirelli will continue its UK and Ireland rally involvement, the company announced at January’s Autosport/Aftermarket Show. The manufacturer will sponsor the Kwik-fit Pirelli British Rally Championship and the Pirelli Irish Tarmac Championship, the latter for the second consecutive year. More than 3000 people visited the Pirelli stand during the course of the show. The company has since describe its participation as “a great success,” adding that its Ford Focus WRC simulator was one of the main attractions.
The FIA is still deliberating over whether or not to adopt just one tyre supplier for future Formula One series’ according to reports from Autosport magazine.
The association’s president, Max Mosley suggested the change in an effort to cut the F1 teams’ costs, saying that too much of the teams’ budget is spent on testing new compounds.
As the UK tyre business was observing events at the Autosport/Aftermarket show, on the other side of the globe, the Tokyo Auto Salon was attracting some 300,000 spectators. Approximately 30,000 of these passed by the Hankook stand each day. According to Hankook, every Japanese car, wheel and tyre manufacturer was present.
Demonstrating its new corporate identity, the Korean company adopted the Hankook Emotion theme for its stand. The exhibition displayed 20 items including its range of Formula 3 racing tyres, Ventus UHP tyres, the low-noise XQ-Optimo and a number of concept products. The company also tried to charm its visitors with a racing Porsche on the company stand, with a magician providing further entertainment.
“The Hankook Tire booth was a fine chance to promote our new corporate identity program in Japan, one of the world’s most important markets for modified automobiles. We worked hard to make a venue that would give auto buffs from around the world a look at our world-class technology and tyres of the future,” commented a Hankook representative.
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