Despite stating on September 28 it “notes with interest” the switch to a single tyre supplier for the 2009 MotoGP World Championship, Michelin has decided not to submit a bid to the championship’s governing body. Upon announcing this decision on October 4, the company added that it “regrets not being able to contribute to the organisers’ important discussions to improve rider safety and reduce costs.
Saturday 20 September saw the conclusion of this year’s Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series at the Miller Motorsports Park in Utah; a finale that also witnessed the curtain drop on Pirelli’s first-year performance as tyre supplier for the series. The performance – according to participants – has been ovation-worthy.
The winning team – the No. 6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley driven by Raphael Matos, John Pew and Ian James – was particularly won over by the P Zero. James commented, “This year when we got the Pirelli it was a real step up in the competition. The consistency has been great and I think you have seen that in the racing. The racing has been great; the Pirellis always give the driver a good stint. The tyres have really added to the series.”
Goodyear has announced that it has put pen to paper on an agreement to supply Flight Custom III tires for Patty Wagstaff Airshows’ Cirrus Extra 300S aircraft.
Pierre Jambon, the general manager of Goodyear’s Global Aviation business says that, “Patty Wagstaff is widely recognized as the world’s premier female aerobatic pilot. We are thrilled that she has chosen to help promote Goodyear, and we look forward to a long collaboration.”
Wagstaff has been selected for the U.S. Aerobatic Team six times, having won gold, silver and bronze medals in international aerobatic competition. She was the first woman to become U.S. National Aerobatic champion and one of the few people to claim that particular victory on three occasions. Wagstaff regularly amazes audiences with her spectacular routines at airshow events across the U.S. and in Canada.
Andrew Gaskell of Greenwood Bros & Gaskell has won Alcoa wheel products’ “oldest Alcoa wheel”, competition launched in April. Fleets from all over Europe sent in pictures of old Alcoa wheels still in use and the eldest one dated back to August 1982. Up to now, Andrew Gaskell of Greenwood Bros & Gaskell has been using a 22.5 x 8.25 Alcoa wheel, manufactured in the USA in August 1982.
Dominique Taylor from Chorleywood is set to enjoy a weekend behind the wheel of a Mazda2 supermini after winning the fabulous prize in a competition run by Japanese tyre manufacturer Toyo Tyres. The competition, held at the recent British International Motor Show, tasked visitors to the Toyo Tires stand with answering a simple question for the chance to win a range of exciting prizes.
“I’m thrilled to have won the Mazda2 Sport 5dr for the weekend,” exclaimed Dominique. “It’s a wonderful car with a really great design. It’s extremely agile too so it is perfect for driving around town.”
The fate of General Tyre Tazania is still hanging in the balance, having closed in April last year. Local newspapers are reports that the government is not likely to bail it out unless the last investor, Continental Tyres, accounts “for the $10 million it was advanced in 2002 to revive production.”
(Cumberland News) All 1,000 workers at the closure-hit Pirelli tyre factory in Carlisle have been asked to take unpaid leave because bosses believe it is in the plant’s best long-term interests.
Production at Pirelli is due to resume tomorrow after a shutdown. Managers issued the appeal to workers on Tuesday, two days before engineers confirmed that the two boilers, which had triggered the shutdown, eight days ago have now been declared safe.
The factory has stood idle since workers discovered a crack in the main boiler at the Carlisle site last Thursday. Since then workers have been asked to stay away as engineers carried out cleaning and made vital safety checks on the boiler, as well as the one at the firm’s sister plant in Burton, where the factory is also at a standstill.
Production at both plants is expected to resume tomorrow.
But there has been concern among some workers after their bosses wrote to them, setting out a series of options for covering the cost of the eight-day closure.
A union agreement gives workers the option of taking 75% of their basic pay. But the letter tells them that Pirelli has now agreed to give them three options:
Accounting for their time off work by using up paid holiday entitlement;
taking the last week’s time off as unpaid leave; or continuing to be paid but repaying the firm by putting in the requisite extra hours by the end of next year.
The letter says that despite the collective deal to give workers “lay-off” pay at 75% of basic rates, minus overtime and shift premium, “..it must be stressed that the options listed, in agreement with the trade unions, are in the best-long term interests of the factory. Please let your administrator know which option you have chosen.”
The letter concludes by thanking employees for their co-operation at this difficult time and promises to keep everyone informed at the relevant times.
The closure has halted the production of thousands of tyres at the plant, which normally operates around the clock all year.
Some workers contacted The Cumberland News this week, saying that they feared they may lose money as a result of problems which were not of their making.
Alan McGuckin, regional industrial organiser for the Unite union, which represents the bulk of Pirelli workers, said the union had not agreed to support the alternative options in the letter.
He said: “We acknowledge that there are alternatives people can be given, but we don’t have recommendations. What we do have is an agreement covering 75 per cent of minimum earnings levels in exceptional circumstances like this. Workers are entitled to what is in the agreement.”
One worker who contacted The Cumberland News said it was unfair that workers should lose out. “This isn’t our fault,” he said.
Another employee said: “People are worried this is a smokescreen for more job cuts.”
The closure came a few weeks after it emerged that bosses want to shed 60 manufacturing posts at the plant because foreign competition has resulted in lost orders and sales. It is hoped compulsory job losses can be avoided.
A Pirelli spokeswoman said yesterday: “Both boilers involved have passed an inspection and production will resume at the weekend.”
She said workers should contact the factory to confirm shift arrangements. The spokeswoman said the company would not discuss the arrangements for dealing with workers pay during the shutdown period.
In 2005, senior Pirelli managers unveiled plans for a giant wind turbine, which they said was crucial to the factory’s long-term success as it strove to cut energy costs.
Planning permission was granted and managers have said that while there is doubt over whether the city is windy enough the 120m turbine is still part of Pirelli’s plans for the future. (Tire Review/Akron)
Bike Tyrestore reports that its dealers have the chance to be amongst seven lucky customers to win a special behind the scenes trip to the MotoGP Test in Jerez, in February 2009. Entry into the draw for this trip comes by means of simply purchasing a dozen or more BT-016 tyres from Bike Tyrestore before 30th November. The winning entrants will receive much coveted behind the scenes MotoGP access, three nights four-star B&B accommodation and return flights.
MMA Maxxis sponsored downhill mountain bikers Gee and Rachel Atherton returned from the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Trentino, Italy, with Britain’s first ever gold medals, and also became the first siblings to take two mountain bike world titles in the same year.
Twenty year old Rachel is the new Women’s World Downhill Champion after mastering the hot, dry conditions and super technical track and seeing off the challenge of outgoing champion, France’s Sabine Jonnier. Fresh from victory in the Mountain Bike World Cup in Andorra, Rachel crossed the line an astonishing 11.99 seconds ahead of her main rival in one of the biggest ever winning margins in World Championships history, following up her 2006 Junior World Championship in style.
Hankook has given away another 40-inch TV as part of its summer promotion offering motorists a free tyre check at dealerships in the south. Prize-winner Mark Harris commented: “I’m just delighted to have been picked as a winner,” said Mark who collected his prize from Tyreland in Southampton just in time for the Olympics. “I had my tyres checked and had forgotten about the competition but it’s a great prize.”
Michelin has responded to an article published by newspaper Le Figaro, which stated France’s competition council was looking into a case of market abuse involving the tyre maker. On August 14 the company stated that its behaviour has been “impeccable” and that it does not dominate the French market.
The French Ministry of Finance is looking into the possibility that Michelin has abused its market power in its home market. According to the daily newspaper Le Figaro, the Ministry has given the case to the nation’s competition council regulator.
The paper says Michelin informed its distributors in late 2007 that it would cut commercial advantages to distributors retaining direct or indirect links to a rival tyre manufacturer. Tyre distributor Vulco, a subsidiary company of Goodyear, reportedly complained to the DGCCRF (the General Directorate for Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control), a unit of the Ministry of Finance.
Nationwide Autocentre has named 19 year old trainee mechanic Ayaz Khalid as its first ‘Apprentice of the Year.’ Ayaz Khalid, currently training at the Redditch centre in the West Midlands, won the title from the UK’s leading MOT and car servicing specialist, where he is currently studying for the third year of his apprenticeship programme. The competition was made up of 13 second and third year young apprentices, chose from a pool of 200. All had been nominated by their regional or centre manager.
Duncan Wilkes, CEO of Nationwide Autocentre, commented: “The day was a real success and the calibre of candidates that took part really highlighted the talent we have within our apprenticeship scheme. The tasks were not easy, many of the third year challenges were set at master technician level, which is the highest level a mechanic can reach. Ayaz was a well deserved winner; he showed great flair for the job and it was clear he was performing well above the level he is currently at within the apprenticeship programme.”
Increased competition from budget imported tyres has led Australian tyre remoulder Motorway Tyres to close its doors. Staff at the company’s facility in Stawell, Victoria, were told on August 1 that the company’s facilities would cease operating, effective immediately. The decision affects 34 staff in Stawell, along with a further eight in Melbourne.
In a statement released on August 2, the company cited difficult trading conditions for the closure. Tyre imports, along with increased materials and distribution costs, were named as key factors. “Over the past three years, management has injected several million dollars into the business, to improve efficiencies in the production and distribution of remoulded tyres and truck treads,” said company director John Bresnehen. “During this time there were also significant efforts made by staff to improve the efficiency of the business.
Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. brought 10 new passenger car and light truck tyre sizes to market. The new products, officially released in May, reportedly come in response to market demand. Toyo’s flagship ultra-high performance passenger car tire, the Proxes T1R, now comes in a 245/40Z R20 size for both replacement and so-called plus sizing. Then there are fitments designed for the Audi A8 and the BMW 7 Series, while domestic cars such as the Cadillac CTS and DTS as well as the Chevy Impala SS/LTZ all benefit from this size.
Racers, track drivers and hardcore performance enthusiasts get to select from a new 245/40Z R17 and a wide 315/35ZR17 Proxes R888 D.O.T. approved competition radial. The new 315-size is an ideal match with a 275/40ZR17 Proxes R888 for early Corvette ZR-1 and popular muscle car fitments.
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