Nova Motorsport has produced the first Avon Motorsport ACB9 Formula Ford and Avon Traction Mileage tyre for classic Land Rovers at its new manufacturing facility in Portugal. The plant, acquired from Camac in May 2024, is equipped with moulds and manufacturing equipment from the former Avon factory in Melksham.
A 20-million-euro transformation of the Camac tyre factory in Portugal, recently acquired by Nova Motorsport, is reportedly nearing completion. More than 200 lorries have transferred the entirety of the Avon motorsport tyre production facility in Melksham, Wiltshire to the Santa Tirso plant. According to Nova Motorsport, the “scale of the investment and extent of the refurbishment is set to significantly enhance the quality and capability of the existing Camac facility.”
Avon has expanded its WX7 winter tyre range with the addition of 12 SKUs for 17- to 19-inch rim diameters. The new dimensions grow the range to a total of 29 sizes to give increased access to a “broad spectrum of cars.”
Following the news that the company will be producing certain Avon-branded motorsport tyres, Nova Motorsport has announced “its acquisition of leading tyre producer, Camac”. No details relating to the terms of acquisition have been released.
Ariel Motor Company, has selected Yokohama tyres as original equipment (OE) for two of its vehicles – the Ariel Atom and the Ariel Nomad. Effective immediately, the Atom will be available to customers fitted with Yokohama’s Advan Sport V105 tyre. From later in 2024, all Ariel Atoms will be fitted with Yokohama’s Advan Sport V105 as part of an exclusive one-make supply agreement.
New motorsport tyre brand Nova Motorsport has signed a five-year partnership to make it the official tyre supplier to the RallyX Championship, starting with the 2024 season opener in Sweden (10-11 May). The deal represents continuity for the championship in a sense; Nova Motorsport has acquired the rights to sell products under the Avon Motorsport and Avon Racing brands from Cooper’s owner, Goodyear; has recruited several key staff from the former Cooper Avon operation based in Melksham; and has acquired all residual stock from the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company and Avon Motorsport business, including the world leading ACB11 rallycross tyre. Nova Motorsport said it is making a “firm commitment to uphold the legacy, performance and quality of Avon Motorsport products.”
Nova Motorsport has continued its recruitment of former Cooper Avon managers previously based at the company’s erstwhile European headquarters in Melksham. James Weekley, former general manager at Avon Tyres Motorsport, leads Nova Motorsport as commercial director. Ex-Cooper Tire/Avon Motorsport product technology manager Matthew Vincent has also become Nova’s senior product category manager. The two appointees join Paul Coates, Cooper Tire/Avon Motorsport general manager, whose appointment was previously announced, and who has become Nova’s contracts manager. The experienced team has been assembled by founder and managing director of the brand’s parent company, SPC Group, Paul Hallas.
Goodyear executives have confirmed that Turbalvoroco Unipessoal LDA, trading as Nova Motorsport (Nova), will buy “certain assets used in the manufacturing and sale of” Avon-branded motorsport tyres. Nova has also acquired “the brand license, traditionally used in the manufacturing and sale of certain motorsport tyres under the names ‘Avon Motorsport’ and ‘Avon Racing’”. Tyres & Accessories understands that Nova plans to continue the production of some of the Avon Motorsport product range independently from Goodyear.
UK compounder SPC Rubber Group has formed a new tyre brand targeting the global motorsport market. Nova Motorsport founder and SPC Rubber managing director Paul Hallas said the company will focus “solely on low-volume racing and specialist tyres,” looking forward to announcing its first products and international partnerships in 2024. With a website and social media channels already in place, Nova will take its public bow at Retromobile – The Classic Car Show in Paris (31 January to 4 February 2024, Hall 1, Stand M-002). Nova has also recruited strong segment experience in its leadership team, including former Avon Motorsport head Paul Coates. Nova launches shortly after Goodyear’s closure of the Cooper Tire manufacturing facility in Melksham, the historical home of Avon and its motorsport operations. Nova is headquartered in Wiltshire, the same UK county as Melksham. “Nova”, as will already be apparent to those in the tyre industry, is Avon in reverse, perhaps a nod to a UK brand with a long motorsport heritage, whose future is being reconfigured under its new owner.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber has further confirmed its brand strategy for the coming years, the so-called “redefined roles” for Dunlop, Avon and Cooper, amongst others. The company has de-premiumised Dunlop in anticipation of growth within tiers 2 and 3 of the tyre market in the next half-decade at the expense of tier 1.
Massimo Tyre is set to become the official tyre sponsor of the MX5 Cup racing tournament. Starting in 2024, approximately 40 drivers will compete up and down the UK for the ‘Massimo Tyre MX5 Cup by 5 Club’. The decision to switch to the popular tyres reportedly came after “record-breaking results in testing”. The series starts on the weekend of 20 April 2024 at Croft circuit.
Several Masters Historic Racing series will compete on Goodyear and Dunlop tyres under a new long-term tyre supply agreement between the tyre maker and UK-based race organiser. Goodyear says this agreement builds on longstanding relationships between Masters and its Dunlop and Avon brands and marks the reintroduction of the Goodyear name into several championships, including events for Formula 1 and 24 Hours of Le Mans cars.
This year will be the first time the Dunlop and Avon brands share exhibition space at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, following The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company in 2021. While Dunlop is scheduled to “showcase its strongest range yet,” Avon will “focus on key designs” with a range that “still offers” its “most popular products” alongside the Dunlop portfolio.
Elliott Investment Management L.P.’s 11 May open letter to Goodyear’s board of directors sent shockwaves through the company and the markets. Essentially, Elliott’s expounded on its “deep conviction in the opportunity for Goodyear to improve after more than a decade of underperformance”, which was widely interpreted as laying down the gauntlet to Goodyear’s board and most senior executives. With Elliott calling pistols at dawn in the mid-west, the question is: is it time to buckle up and circle the wagons in Akron or are vultures circling over Goodyear? Here, Tyres & Accessories presents an in-depth analysis of Elliott’s arguments for enormous change, critically evaluating the problematic areas Elliott identifies along the way. In order to support our analysis, we spoke to senior executives close to Goodyear, those with first-hand management experience in Akron, financial analysts and third-party market researchers.
Avon Tyres entered the Goodyear fold in 2021 and was integrated into the wider group of brands over the following year. Its new owner considers Avon “one of the motorcycle industry’s longest-established tyre brands” and now plans a “fresh focus” for the British marque with a “reinvigorated approach.” At the same time, Goodyear says the Avon brand will remain a key part of its portfolio in the passenger vehicle segment.
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