The inability to test slick tyres before the race did not prevent heir apparent to the MotoGP crown, Jorge Lorenzo from reasserting his dominance of the 2010 Championship following a run of victories for Casey Stoner, who lost the rear wheel of his Ducati in the final bend of lap five. Lorenzo comfortably beat his teammate Valentino Rossi to claim the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril, both riders using the medium front and rear Bridgestone slicks.
Cooper Tire Europe has announced a pair of new products designed specifically to cope with the UK’s winter motoring conditions. The Wiltshire-based company’s latest high-performance tyres for winter, the WM-SA2 and WM-ST3, are available now in sizes ranging from 13” to 16”.
Doncaster-based McGregor Logistics, a member of the Pall-Ex network, has appointed ATS Euromaster to supply, fit and service the tyres across its busy fleet of 18 tractor units, 36 curtain side trailers and 6 temperature controlled fridge units. The deal replaces a previous arrangement with a local independent tyre dealer.
The Portuguese Grand Prix this weekend represents the first half of the final back-to-back pairing of the 2010 MotoGP season. The Riders’ and Teams’ championships have been clinched, by Jorge Lorenzo and the Fiat Yamaha Team, but the Constructors’ title is still up for grabs, as is second position in the riders’ championship. Additionally Estoril is described as one of the most technically challenging races on the calendar for Bridgestone’s tyres with a multitude of different corner characteristics, corner loads and surfaces, meaning that a well-balanced setup is important to allow the tyres to perform consistently throughout a lap.
NDI has announced that wheel business AP Wheels has now launched a new website, www.ap-wheels.com. Marketing the site as “a strong link with the European agricultural sector,” NDI pointed out that the Danish company has become the largest importer of industrial tyres in Northern Europe. “NDI is a leading supplier of a full range of wheel solutions that meets the needs of agriculture and modern industry and we have nearly 40 years’ experience, initially in importing and subsequently in the production of AP Wheels. This know-how has been channelled into the manufacture of AP Wheels, a top-quality product widely used in the European agriculture sector,” said Carsten Andersen, export manager at NDI.
Recently-recruited Bridgestone Midlands area sales manager, Darren Hill, recently won two new accounts to the company. Freelance Haulage, based in Boughton, Nottinghamshire – is a specialist haulage and transport company running 10 vehicles and 20 trailers- has changed to new Bridgestone product, via local Bridgestone Truckpoint dealer Tanvic Tyres. Chris Porter, Freelance’s managing director, gave the reason for the change as “the anticipated longevity of the Bridgestone product, coupled with excellent value for money.”
The opportunity for increasing winter tyre sales has not been lost on two-wheel wholesaler Bike Tyrestore, which is publicising its range of Sava winter scooter tyres. BTS says the Sava pattern (MC32 WIN SCOOT) is widely used in Europe, allowing cold-weather riders to negotiate the slippery conditions seen in the UK last winter. The wholesaler stocks five popular sizes. Sava’s MC32 M+S is similarly made for motorcycle applications in sizes 100/80-17 52R and 130/70-17 62R.
Pirelli’s latest “Tyre Market Watch” figures show that first half 2010 passenger car tyre volumes increased by approximately 20 per cent. Third quarter volumes are said to have remained strongly in the double digit growth range, but moving at roughly half the pace of the first half at +10 per cent. Truck tyre volumes were said to have been much stronger growing at +20 per cent and +25 per cent respectively.
Bridgestone Europe’s group of 18 national sales companies has been accredited to the revised standard ISO 9001:2008 by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance. Announcing the accreditation, Bridgestone Europe’s senior vice president of Sales & Marketing, Takashi Tomioka, commented: “ISO 9001 is an important standard which we have held since 1992. Ensuring that our sales companies operate to these stringent requirements provides a systematic and visible way to lead and operate our sales organisations. This allows us to focus on meeting our customers’ expectations through consistent products and services”.
The latest component of Bridgestone’s ongoing Tyre Safety campaign – a website designed to boost awareness of the importance of tyre safety – has been unveiled. Featuring UK motorsport expert and TV commentator, Tony Jardine, the site contains a series of short video clips demonstrating what Bridgestone calls the “three main pillars” of tyre safety: tyre pressure, tread depth and damage/irregular wear. The web address is www.TyreSafety.eu.
According to research undertaken by market research company fast.MAP for mytyres.co.uk, price, choice and convenience are the main reasons why UK motorists are increasingly buying tyres online rather than from high street retailers. One thousand motorists were surveyed in September for the UK Delticom online operation, and price was identified as the most important reason for buying online. Delticom reports that over 80 per cent of respondents indicated that buying online was cheaper and more than 70 per cent said it was easier and quicker than more traditional methods: in excess of half of those surveyed cited the ability to order from the comfort of home as an important factor.
TRW Automotive Holdings reports the use of its new design LCCI (Low Cost Clamp-In) sensor for tyre pressure monitoring systems results in “significantly lowered costs for the system.” TPMS units featuring the LCCI are scheduled to be introduced in 2011 model year vehicles in the US.
There’s been a nip in the air of late, and Nokian Tyres has recognised this as the perfect time for a reminder that fitting eco winter tyres can help reduce vehicle fuel consumption. “Car drivers even can cut their fuel consumption even by half a litre on 100 kilometres with the environmentally friendly low rolling resistance tyre Nokian WR G2 if the air pressure is right,” commented Teppo Huovila, vice president of R&D at the Finnish manufacturer. “A rolling resistance lowered by 40 per cent saves six per cent fuel.”
At this year’s CITExpo, Best Choice International Trade didn’t just present a large portion of its existing range – visitors were also shown a new brand. By the end of the year this new line-up, produced under the “Mazzini Tyres” name, should be available in 13 sizes between 15 and 18-inches. As export manager Stephen Wu explained, the Mazzini brand will be separately positioned in the market to the company’s existing “Sunew” own brand. “We wanted a new brand for new customers,” elucidated Wu, stressing that the necessity to supply various distribution channels with a variety of brands. In light of this the company is looking around the world, particularly in Western Europe, North America, Australia and Japan, for new distributors.
It is already heavily involved in the UK and throughout Europe with football – the real football, the one where ball contact is made using the feet – and now Kumho Tires has extended its sports sponsorship activities to the American equivalent. In announcing the sponsorship of five gridiron teams in the US, the tyre maker says it has chosen a target for its sports marketing “renowned as American as apple pie” to make inroads into North American area.
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