Viking International is offering Viking and Barum brand tyre dealers the chance to win a holiday in exciting destinations such as Rome, Nice or Amsterdam. Two dealers for each brand can win £500 worth of holiday vouchers towards a short break to a destination of their choice as a reward for increased tyre sales. Dealers have been automatically entered into the promotions which are currently running from 2nd June until 25th July.
This weekend the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race takes place at the historic French circuit, and for ‘local’ manufacturer Michelin the event holds particular significance. According to Michelin motorsport director Frédéric Henry-Biabaud, the Le Mans race is Michelin’s “home battlefield” and losing at Le Mans is “out of the question.” But after securing ten consecutive victories, the motorsport director expresses every confidence that Michelin’s winning streak will continue.
It was a very good result for Michelin,” said Henry-Biabaud. “It was also an extremely memorable race thanks to the arrival of Peugeot to compete against Audi.” With the addition of Peugeot, Michelin now supplies more than 60 per cent of the field. “For us, that presented an additional challenge, as we needed to make sure that we supplied those two teams – as well as everybody else – with absolutely equal equipment. It was essential to be completely impartial with everybody.
In the USA, Taiwan-based Federal Tyres is sponsoring Henry Schelley in the Fifth annual Formula Drift Pro Championship. The seven–round competition, featuring courses in five different states across the country, began on 12 April on the Long Beach Grand Prix Street Course, where Shelley’s Mazda Rx-7 – fitted with Federal 595 Competition Series tyres – achieved a respectful 22nd placement from a field of more than 60 drift-modified vehicles.
Post-competition, Schelley praised Federal’s input into his performance: “The tyres seamlessly integrated with Mazda Rx-7 and simultaneously reported a sensitive road feedback which delivered the correct guidance in a split second so to make the track easy to navigate.” Federal hopes that Schelley’s performance will increase brand-awareness among the sold-out bleachers, filled with “racing buffs”, at each Drift Grand Prix course.
Having just been awarded another long term contract with a major national food retailer, Bandvulc Tyres now manage and/or supply the top three supermarket chains in the UK. According to the company, Bandvulc tyres are now used on almost 65 per cent of all the grocery deliveries within the UK.
Philip West, Sales Director of the Bandvulc Group commented: “Expertise, delivery and a sense of quality in everything we do is what differentiates us from the major tyre manufacturers and competition. I suppose our ethos is the same as our customers’, to deliver quality products and services on time. Through our network of partners we have been successful”.
Maxxis International UK have introduced a new range of skid steer tyres designed for versatility and the ability to tackle a range of heavy-duty tasks. The M9000 MT Loader has been developed for heavyweight forklift trucks, while the company recommends the M8000 Tuff-Guard for use in extra heavy duty applications, such as excavation. The Maxxis M8000 Tuff-Guard is available in a full range of sizes up to 12.00-20, while the M9000 comes in a range of sizes from 10-16.5 8 PR to 15-19.5 12 PR.
Simultaneously, the brand has announced their new Sur Trak C9208 All Terrain Vehicle utility tyre. The Sur Trak features dual traction lugs, to channel loose soil away from the contact patch and a durable nylon carcass designed to improve puncture resistance. It has a multidirectional tread design, lending the tyre increased traction on a variety of surfaces.
The 2009 judging panel for Michelin Challenge Design has been announced, and in July the panel will meet to select the vehicle designs and concepts that will make up the special exhibition at the 2009 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.
The central theme for this year, the eighth in which the international competition has been held, is ‘Brave and Bold, America’s Next Iconic Vehicle’, and Michelin says that companies, studios, design teams and individual designers from more than 45 countries have submitted full-size vehicles, scale models and renderings. The designs will be evaluated, says Michelin, for uniqueness, emotional appeal, design courage and technical execution.
Sports fans in the US are soon to be treated to the thrills of rugby, thanks to Michelin North America. The tyremaker is hosting a match between top French rugby team Clermont-Auvergne and the US national rugby team, the USA Eagles. The game, to be held in South Carolina on August 9, is the first ever international rugby exhibition match to be played in this state.
Michelin North America will be the presenting sponsor for this first “Michelin Challenge Rugby” event, held in its home state. Since 1911, the Clermont-Auvergne rugby team has been sponsored by the Michelin Group in its home city of Clermont-Ferrand, France. The French team currently sits atop the standings in the country’s Top 14 division and leads its main rival, Toulouse, by nine points in the standings.
The number of entries for Bridgestone’s “dreams at heArt” children’s drawing contest received during 2008 set a new record. A total of 40,700 entries were received from children in 20 European countries, and in mid-May a panel of judges in Brussels selected the 90 winners for this year’s contest, their decisions based upon the originality, creativity and impact of the work.
Combining the issue of ecology with that of road safety, this year’s theme was “Safe Travel on Planet Ecopia”. Primary school children throughout Europe were invited to draw, colour or paint their dreams of how this planet might look. As in previous years, winners were selected in each of three age categories: up to 7 years, 8 to 9, and 10 to 11. The top three winners in each category receive a Bridgestone bicycle and safety helmet; the 4th to 10th placed receive a Bridgestone tennis set of racket and balls; and the 11th to 30th placed in each category win a safety bag. The top nine winners are also acknowledged in a special way – their work will be painted onto a Bridgestone GP2 Series racing car. In addition, a digital camera will be gifted to their school.
According to Yokohama, FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) drivers have universally praised the performance of its Advan tyres in the hard-fought competition, but success has not stopped the Japanese manufacturer from engaging in preparation work on the WTCC’s next generation tyre. Yokohama is confirmed as the WTCC’s official tyre supplier until the end of 2009 but the company says is not resting on the success of its current racing tyre. In the background, development work is already underway on the next series of performance rubber. When the current tender ends in 2009, the ADVAN design used in today’s WTCC will be three years old. Should the FIA and WTCC teams decide to use a different specification tyre, Yokohama says it will already have developed options in line with touring car changes, and be ready to manufacture its latest product.
HiQ recently gave a tyre fitter from Derby the chance to showcase his skills to drivers of the British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park. Dave Parker, a mobile tyre technician with HiQ, worked trackside changing tyres for Matt Neal, Darren Turner, and all the stars of Britain’s premier motor racing series.
The 30-year-old will join the Dunlop Motorsport team after HiQ bosses singled him out on account of his quick-change skills. The fast fitter, based at HiQ’s Abbey Street store, vowed to teach Dunlop Motorsport a thing or two about tyre changes as well.
Bridgestone Corporation has confirmed its receipt of a Statement of Objections on May 1, and the April 30 receipt of a Statement of Objections by its UK subsidiary. These said statements were sent by the European Commission with respect to alleged anticompetitive behaviour regarding the sale of marine hose. The company states it will examine the European Commission’s preliminary findings as reported in the Statement of Objections, and will respond ‘in due course’.
A Statement of Objections is a procedural document whereby the European Commission describes its preliminary view in relation to a possible infringement of EU competition law and allows its addressees to present arguments in response. A Statement of Objections is a preparatory document that does not prejudge the European Commission’s final decision. Any final decision by the European Commission is subject to appeal to the European Courts.
Goodyear is on the look-out for the UK’s top performing agricultural innovator. And what’s more the company is offering £3500 worth of Goodyear Farm tyres and the title of Goodyear Proud to be a Farmer Award 2008 to the most innovative farmer the company comes across. Anyone interested in entering the competition is encouraged to enter the competition via the Goodyear website www.mygoodyear.co.uk.
This year Goodyear celebrates 70 years of specialised farm tyre supply within the UK. To celebrate these innovations over the last 70 years Goodyear has teamed together with Harper Adams University College based near Shropshire, to create the Proud to be a Farmer Award. This award is searching for the UK’s most innovative, pioneering and ground breaking farmer. “Harper Adams is one of the UK’s top agricultural universities and offers a wealth of knowledge on farming practice and innovation. They will be using their expertise to help us select a winner of the Proud to be a Farmer award 2008” said Andy Morris, Director of Goodyear Farm Tyres.
Racing fans that spend more time in front of the computer screen than behind a windscreen can now participate in their own global race series. Yokohama has announced its partnership in the new Virtual World Touring Car Championship (V-WTCC), an online championship for motorsport enthusiasts.
V-WTCC, explains Yokohama, is an online version of ‘RACE 07 – The Official WTCC Game’. Participants from around the globe can demonstrate their skills, competing for the title of V-WTCC Champion. After successfully competing in the earlier knockout rounds, six lucky qualifiers will receive invitations to the Grande Finale, held at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. The V-WTCC winner will make his or her way into the simulated racing history books and receive a yet-to-be revealed grand prize.
Michelin scored another win in the Le Mans Series at the weekend, with taking the Peugeot-Total-Michelin team the chequered flag in Monza. The cars, driven by, Stéphane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy, ended up winning after what company representatives described as “a real ding-dong battle with the No. 2 Audi [of] Mike Rockenfeller at the wheel.” The No. 17 Pescarolo (Tinseau / Primate) finished third.
For Michelin, the Monza race proved to be the perfect testing ground to validate tyres in preparation for the Le Mans 24 Hours. Matthieu Bonardel, Director of Four-wheel Competition commented: “Firstly, we want to wish a speedy recovery to Stéphane Ortelli from the Oreca team, who suffered an incredible “off” today and we hope to see him on the circuits again soon. With regards tyres, this race was by no means easy. The Monza circuit is highly specific and the evolution of the track today was quite strong. While there was a definite phenomenon of understeer in all categories during practice, it was not the case in the race…The only disappointment for us was because we failed to find a solution to double-stint and gain time. We tried both with medium and hard compounds, but we soon found that the mediums lost on performance over time, while the hards didn’t have the performance to start with.
Taiwan’s Federal Tire has been in the business for more than half a century, and in recent times has become much involved in motorsports, especially in parts of Asia and the US, with an emphasis on drifting championships much in evidence. A hardcore base of motorsport fans always ensures a market for a tyre manufacturer’s high performance products, and in 2008 Federal Tire has several such ranges available under both the Federal and Hero brand names.
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