Melksham Town Council has welcomed Apollo Tyres’ acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber. Melksham north ward councillor Pam Wiltshire told local newspaper the Wiltshire Times that “obviously it’s a really good thing for the town, because there have been concerns in the past with what might happen.”
The Isle of Man TT Sidecar events saw more than 40 competitors using Avon tyres, as Tim Reeves and Dan Sayle took victory in the first and Ben and Tom Birchall claimed an emotional maiden TT win in the second on the brand’s products. Conrad Harrison and Mike Aylott finished second in race one and third in race two while pre-race favourite Dave Molyneux had a frustrating TT by his standards, unable to add to his 16 TT wins and finishing third and second respectively in the two races, with passenger Patrick Farrance.
With Cooper Tire Europe renewing attention on its Cooper brand, while also upping marketing efforts in general including on its Avon brand (see separate article in our June magazine's Company News section for more on this), here is a summary of the company’s current range including details of both brands’ line ups.
Motorsport plays a key part in how Cooper markets its performance tyres. Continuing support of the Cooper Tires British F3 series highlights the company’s ability to produce tyres that perform at the toughest limits and for 2013, Cooper is appearing in the FIA European Rallycross Championship, showing how the company’s tyres can perform in a range of conditions.
Barbon Manor and Harewood Hill will play host to the Avon Tyres MSA British Hillclimb Championship this weekend 11-12 May, as the grass-roots championship arrives at its first of two split-venue race weekends of 2013. The Cumbria hill of Barbon Manor is the venue for competition on Saturday, with racers then travelling to the longest venue on the championship calendar – Harewood Hill – for Sunday’s action.
Avon Motorsport has taken its place alongside Pirelli as one of two tyre companies sponsoring the Time Attack series in 2013. At the first event of the year at Cadwell Park Avon tyres were used to claim the overall fastest lap, a new Time Attack lap record in qualifying, and second place overall in the intensely close Pro Class final, thanks to the Mitsubishi Evo of Gareth Lloyd. Time Attack organiser, Andy Barnes praised Avon for recognising the potential of the championship, and the good fit with the brand’s products provided by the series.
Avon is offering motorcycle customers £15 off the fitting of Avon 3D tyres purchased from selected dealers between 1 April and 30 June. The 3D Ultra Sport, Supersport, Xtreme or the new Storm 3D X-M tyres purchased from selected Avon Tyres stockists will qualify for £15 towards the fitting of each new tyre. Customers will be asked to complete a form and the discount will be applied at the time and point of purchase.
Avon Tyres has launched its new Storm 3D X-M sports-touring bike tyre, manufactured in Britain for the hypersport motorcycle market. The tyre aims to combine the performance of the Storm 3D Ultra tyre with the increased longevity demanded by riders using their bikes more regularly. The tyre will be available from UK dealers in April.
Cooper Tires has launched its fifth successive year as exclusive tyre supplier to the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 Series. The company has been involved for more than 30 of the championship’s 60 years, having supplied Avon brand tyres before moving to Cooper in 2009. The tyre supplier exemplifies British F3’s calibre with the high number of drivers who have graduated to Formula One – more than any other championship. Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen have all been both British F3 and Formula One World Champions. It is also the oldest Formula 3 category in the world.
Avon will begin its eighth successive year as sole tyre supplier to the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Oulton Park on Easter weekend. Launched on the evening of 7 March in London, the 2013 season features grids boosted by a number of European entries.
Avon Tyres is set to showcase its latest 3D Ultra range at the Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle show later this week. The show, which takes place in the ExCeL arena at London’s Royal Victoria Dock from 15 to 17 February, will see the tyre maker partner with FWR – one of London’s largest stockists of motorcycle tyres – to highlight the range. Both the 3D Ultra Sport and 3D Ultra Supersport, designed for road-going superbikes, will be on display alongside other tyres from the Avon range, include the Storm 2 Ultra sports-touring tyre, the Cobra cruiser tyre, Roadrider – for classic and commuter machines – and Avon’s scooter tyres.
The Carlsson-developed SLK 340 international hillclimb race car due to première at the Geneva Motor Show on 5 March is capable of developing a respect-worthy 782bhp per tonne, and a car with this level of performance needs a suitable tyre. Thus Avon Tyres takes pride in reporting that its hillclimb tyres have been chosen as the SLK 340’s original equipment fitment.
Following the introduction of the 3D Ultra last year, Avon is further expanding its motorcycle tyre range with the release of the Storm 3D X-M. In a short release introducing the new product, the tyre maker says the new X-M delivers 15 to 20 per cent greater mileage in comparison with the current Storm range. The sipes on the X-M also contain three-dimensional points that are designed to improve stability, grip, limit tread flex and allow the tyre to warm-up in less time – a feature also seen on the 3D Ultra. High performance single and multi compound super rich silica (SRS) treads are also present; Avon says these enhance wet grip. The tyre maker adds that the X-M possesses outstanding handling and stability qualities.
Avon Tyres has added several versions of the 3D Ultra motorcycle tyre range to its Road Hazard Warranty. This means that, in certain instances, should a 3D Ultra tyre become unserviceable as a result of what Avon considers “qualified tyre damage”, such as through a puncture, a replacement will be offered at no charge.
Italian racing team AF Corse claimed its second Gulf 12 Hours win on Avon tyres in 2012 at the Yas Marina Circuit last week, in the final race of the Cooper brand’s 2012 motorsport season. The AF Corse team, which recently announced its entry to the Avon Tyres British GT Championship in 2013, took the spoils by the excitingly small margin of 2.6 seconds in the first Gulf 12 Hours Race, held at the Herman Tilke-designed circuit back in January. Victory in the second event of the year was decidedly more convincing, with the lead AF Corse Ferrari crossing the line nearly half a minute clear of the rest of the field in its second visit to the Emirati capital.
ATS Euromaster has secured what it calls a “significant new tyre agreement” with Derbyshire-based Commercial Vehicle Solutions (CVS). The agreement covers the supply and service of tyres for 100 per cent of the company’s 2,300-strong fleet of light commercials and heavy trucks. The contract is worth hundreds of thousands of pounds annually and Peter Findlay, general manager for Fleet Operations at CVS, says it will continue for “as long as ATS Euromaster performs as well as they have shown us they can.”
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