A group of BFGoodrich dealers recently experienced rallying at its best, enjoying a once in a lifetime trip to an FIA World Rally Championships (WRC) event as part of a dealership incentive programme from the leading performance and 4×4 tyre brand.
Fernando Alonso’s (Renault F1 Team – Michelin) victory in Montreal has given Michelin its 100th win in Formula One racing. This latest success, Michelin’s seventh of the season, is the company’s 41st since returning to the sport in 2001. Around the same time Michelin made it clear that it would not tender for a single-supplier series. After an exciting race, the remaining podium places were filled the Bridgestone-equipped Ferrari of Michael Schumacher (2nd) and the Michelin-shod McLaren of Kimi Raikonnen.
As the official tyre supplier to the World Superbike Championship (SBK), Pirelli’s latest tyre, the Diablo Corsa III, owes its development to Pirelli’s vast racing experience. As such, the new tyre is equally at home on the racetrack, motorways and ordinary roads.
The tyre boasts no fewer than three different compounds, with separate compounds for the front and rear tyres and the rear tyre itself further divided into three zones. The front tyre incorporates rigid, high hysteresis compounds, designed to dissipate energy efficiently. This provides fast warm up, more grip, thanks to a balanced silica/carbon black compound and good traction and braking. Stability at high temperatures is provided by utilising new structural materials.
SJR Hankook rally drivers Gwyndaf Evans and Stuart Jones are set to face more than 160 miles of fast and challenging roads next month as the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship heads to the Scottish borders for the Jim Clark Rally. With one round down and the championship still in its early stages, the SJR Hankook team now turns its attention to asphalt and one of the toughest tests of the championship.
Far Eastern news sources are reporting that Michelin has launched its Pilot Preceda PP2 in Asia, a tyre designed especially for markets like China. Yang Sai Hoi, general manager of Michelin Asia (Singapore) Co. said the secret of the PP2’s performance is Michelin’s True Sport Tire (TST) construction, toting high shoulder reinforcement, joint-less nylon caps and full-width steel beltlines, resulting in enhanced response and handling.
Viking International is pleased to announce the winners of its recent Millennium competition. The Ultra High Performance Millennium tyre range, launched at the beginning of the year, was introduced alongside a competition for trade customers with the chance to win an all expenses paid motorsport day courtesy of Viking International.
Bandag, Incorporated announced that it has closed its pension plans to new hires in the U S and Canada, and will freeze the existing pension plans for US employees and for salaried Canadian employees effective 31 December 2006. The cost-cutting programme includes an early retirement programme and voluntary and involuntary redundancies for some US employees.
Pirelli is to supply original equipment for the new Lamborghini Murcielago LP640. The latest model presented by Lamborghini will be exclusively equipped with the Pirelli P Zero Corsa System ultra-high-performance tyres. The low-profile P Zero Corsa System tyres are reportedly derived from the company’s competition experience and are designed for use on both road and track.
For those of you who have read and/or entered our 60th anniversary competition, you may be wondering exactly what a Travelpilot Lucca offers. Tyres & Accessories didn’t want to leave you in the dark, so here is a run-down of what this month’s star prize has to offer: Leading satellite navigation manufacturer, Blaupunkt launched its first portable route guidance system onto the market in January. The TravelPilot Lucca is described as extremely user friendly and this model works straight out of the box. Touch-screen technology and a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver ensures that both operation and installation are child’s play.
The competition closing date is the 31st July.
Top Technician finalist Roy Lumley I.ENG.MIMI of Technical Car Services, York, has been crowned ‘Top Technician 2006’. Roy beat hundreds of entrants to the winner’s title, trophy and £2,000 cash prize. Lumley was one of only three finalists invited to the Top Technician 2006 Awards Ceremony in Birmingham on 26 May. Stuart White of Complete Car Maintenance, Surrey and Jerry Carroll MIMI of Carroll’s Garage, Renfrewshire were joint runners up and each received £250.
Bridgestone e-reporter finalist Donna Law, from Merton, London, is the youngest and only female Bridgestone e-reporter finalist in 2006. In the second phase of the pan-European competition for young sports journalists, Donna Law attended the Spanish Grand Prix as a roving reporter in the GP2 series paddock.
(Akron/Tire Review) Goodyear’s Dunlop brand group is looking to leverage podcasting to enhance brand image, awareness and, hopefully, sales. Dunlop’s free podcasts – available on Apple’s iTunes site, podcastalley.com and Yahoo! Podcasts – will feature information about Dunlop’s new Signature tyre line, drifting, information about upcoming retail promotions, and reports from the Dunlop Drivers Cup’s World Finals.
European component car manufacturer Robin Hood Sports Cars Ltd has announced that it is to exclusively use Marangoni Zeta Linea high performance tyres for its Lightweight, Project 2B, Superspec and new Hood RS models. The forthcoming dramatically styled Ferrenzo mid-engine project will also use Marangoni high performance tyres.
The Marangoni Zeta Linea has major motor sport provenance, notably as the control tyre in the 2004 Mazda RX-8 Cup (the Championship used Zeta Linea Slick/Semi Slick Racing tyres for 2005 and will continue with these in 2006).
Cooper Tires has set a new World Donuting record at the Santa Pod Raceway, Northamptonshire. Twenty-two enthusiasts mainly from the online ‘Drift’ community, Driftworks.co.uk, helped Cooper break the previous record for the number of cars simultaneously donuting, which stood at three cars.
The Fulda Progesso performance summer tyre has won two categories in the latest summer tyre test of German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, part of Europe’s most popular network of car magazines. Ranking first, in two critical areas: ‘traction and ‘aquaplaning,’ Fulda Progresso beat off strong competition from 10 other tyre brands achieving 20 out of 20 in aquaplaning and 10 out of 10 in traction.
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