With the installation of a new high-speed machine within its R&D department, Pirelli is now equipped to test tyres at speeds of up to 310 mph. The Italian marque shared news of this enhanced testing capability shortly after the FIA issued an invitation to tender for F1 tyre supply from 2025.
Already the official tyre supplier to the TCR touring car competition on four continents, Kumho Tire recently signed a deal to become the title sponsor and exclusive tyre provider to the related TCR World Tour. All cars participating in the 2023 Kumho TCR World Tour will thus race on the Kumho Ecsta S700 racing tyre or, in wet conditions, the Ecsta W701.
As of this season, Hankook Tire is exclusive tyre partner of the FIA Junior European Rally Championship, a series for highly-talented young rally drivers held as part of the FIA European Rally Championship. All cars in the Rally4 category will compete on Hankook Ventus Z215 and Dynapro R211 tyres.
Master Class of Racing (MCoR) is a new and – according to its promoter – “industry-changing” race series in the USA. The stated main goal of MCoR is to “offer sprint racing and a fantastic short format endurance racing at a cost that makes sense for teams and more critically, the drivers.” All of these drivers will compete on Hankook tyres.
If asked which tyres are worn by cars competing in Lamborghini Super Trofeo races, you may be tempted to name an Italian brand starting with ‘P’ – but you’d be wrong. As of the 2023 season, Hankook Tire is now official technical partner and exclusive tyre supplier to all three series of the one-make cup. It has also developed a new, high-performance race tyre for this engagement, the Hankook Ventus Race, a product specifically tailored to the Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2 racing car.
Hankook Tire, new official technical partner and tyre supplier of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and title sponsor of the current season’s opening race, says it is “prepared and ready” for its engagement in the all-electric race series. The Hankook Mexico City E-Prix takes place on 14 January and is the first of eleven race weekends around the world this year that will host a total of 16 races.
Not only does the DTM touring car championship have a new home as part of Europe’s largest motoring association, the ADAC, changes are also afoot in the tyre department. Pirelli, who has long equipped another ADAC-backed series, is taking over from Michelin as exclusive DTM tyre supplier in 2023.
Last weekend, Dunlop began its tenure as the exclusive tyre supplier to the highest echelon of Italian two-wheeled motorsport, the top Superbike category of the Campionato Italiano Velocità (CIV).
The organisers of the Campionato Italiano Velocità (CIV) have selected Dunlop as the exclusive tyre supplier for the championship’s flagship Superbike category, in a deal spanning the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The arrangement was announced during a pre-season presentation at the MotorBikeExpo and makes Dunlop sole tyre supplier for three of CIV’s five categories, as the brand is already the tyre partner to the Italian platform’s Moto3 and Pre-Moto3 classes.
Following the WSC Group’s announcement that Kumho Tire has developed a bespoke tyre for TCR competition, TCR Europe has confirmed its intention to switch its exclusive tyre supply from Hankook to Kumho for the 2022 season. WSC approved the Kumho tyre following a successful evaluation test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on the day after the final event of the 2021 TCR Europe season.
The FIM MiniGP World Series was launched earlier this year as the “newest path on the Road to MotoGP” and to serve as an umbrella for the various national, regional and continental MiniGP competitions, such as the FIM MiniGP UK Series. Through its partnership with FIM, Dorna Sports S.L. and Ohvale, Pirelli serves as sole tyre supplier, and to equip these bikes the tyre maker has presented its first NHS competition range dedicated to small motorcycles with 10- and 12-inch wheels, such as pitbikes, minimotards and scooters.
Hankook will serve as exclusive tyre partner to the relaunched Deutsche Tourenwagen Challenge (DTC), a German motorsport series aimed at young and amateur drivers and contested by affordable cars with a maximum engine capacity of 1.65 litres such as the Ford Fiesta ST, Hyundai i20 N, Peugeot 208, Renault Clio Cup or Toyota Yaris. All vehicles will compete on Hankook Ventus Race tyres when the series gets underway next year.
This weekend’s 89th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is not only the most prestigious endurance race on the planet, but a crucial event for Goodyear. After becoming the exclusive tyre supplier to the LMP2 class racing on the European and global stage, Goodyear is preparing for a large-scale operation to support 26 cars.
A major change to Formula 1 for the 2022 season will be the introduction of 18-inch tyres after half a century of wide sidewall tyres sitting on 13-inch rims. Pirelli is presenting the new tyres at Silverstone today and comments that “now it’s time to change to a more modern approach” with a dimension actually seen on today’s road cars.
Pirelli, as title sponsor of this weekend’s F1 event in Imola – the Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia Romagna – is supplying the race trophies. The tyre maker turned to Alice Ronchi to supply the creativity, selecting the artist for this project thanks to her collaboration with Pirelli HangarBicocca, the non-profit foundation dedicated to the production and promotion of contemporary art established within a converted warehouse in Milan in 2004.
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