Ferrari Archives - Page 15 of 18

Fisichella: Australia Tyres ‘Fantastic’

Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella wants to win again in Malaysia and is under no illusion about the part that tyres will play. “I will do everything I can to win the race,” the Italian told the Reuters news agency. “In Australia the tyres were fantastic,” he said. “I did my best lap time on the 55th lap with just two laps left. Malaysia will be more severe for the tyres because track temperature is much higher. We will need to save the tyres to win the race.”

Fisichella’s recent victory in Australia was his second in 142 races. The driver said Ferrari and McLaren would be Renault’s main threats and added that tyre preservation will be a crucial factor in Sunday’s race. New rules require drivers to qualify and complete the race on the same set of tyres.

17th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Ferrari Upsets Bridgestone?

Product News

Bridgestone is unhappy with Ferrari, according to speculation in the Italian media and online news sources. In the run up to the Malaysian Grand Prix, and a potential Bahrain debut of the team’s new F2005 car, Bridgestone had asked for either Michael Schumacher or Rubens Barrichello to return to Europe. Instead of assisting the supplier with the development of the car’s new custom built tyre, Michael Schumacher took a holiday in South Malaysia, while Rubens Barichello went home to Brazil, the Home of F1 news site reported. Luca Badoer and Marc Gene are reported to have participated in the testing on the lead drivers’ behalf.

16th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Teams Dominate Opening F1 Race

Motorsport

Michelin supplied teams took all but one of the top eight places at Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix. The opening race of the season saw Giancarlo Fisichella’s Renault win at the chequered flag, followed by Rubens Barichello’s Bridgestone equipped Ferrari. Fisichella’s teammate, Fernando Alonso took the final podium position. In a further development, the Red Bull team’s drivers (David Coulthard and Christian Klein) took fourth and seventh place respectively.

During the official press conference that followed the race, racewinner Giancarlo Fisichella told journalists: “Honestly because of the first part of the race I was a bit conservative on the tyres. I never pushed to the limit, only at the end when Rubens was catching me.”

“It’s going to be a lot closer this year, but I do feel we’re going to be in with a shout all year,” Renault’s technical boss Pat Symonds also commented.

7th March 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

New Land Rover 3 and Discovery 3 Exhausts

News

Quicksilver has launched a stainless steel exhaust system specially designed for the new Land Rover 3 and Discovery 3 V8 petrol and Turbo Disel V6. According to the company, the new products are for “bold confident people who enjoy making a fashion statement,” and provide “a distinguished air of supremacy.”

11th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Denies F1 Tyre Wear Problems

Motorsport

Formula 1 supplier, Bridgestone, has denied speculation of a major problem with excessive tyre wear. The denial follows last week’s Valencia testing session where Ferrari lingered in the midfield while Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello reportedly complained about a lack of durability. “We got the data we wanted to get,” technical manager Hisao Suganuma told Autosport. The Japanese team then went on to deny that the Valencia specification even nearly resembles the tyre the team will use for qualifying and the Australian Grand Prix. “We are happy with the (pre-season) data we have so far,” he added.

9th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Only One F1 Tyre Supplier?

Motorsport

Formula 1 could soon become a single manufacturer series, the BBC has reported. Max Mosely has said that he is “strongly in favour” of the move, according to the minutes of a high level meeting the BBC claims to have seen. Mr Mosley, the FIA president, is said to have agreed with Ferrari, the only other team at the meeting, to discuss the idea with F1’s tyre suppliers. Ferrari also backed the idea of a significant reduction in testing as part of proposals to cut costs. The issue of rising costs and how to keep them under control has caused a split between Ferrari and the other nine teams, who refused to attend the meeting last week.

3rd February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli’s Presence in US OE Growing

Premium, Product News

The Detroit Motorshow has increased Pirelli’s profile in America’s Original Equipment segment.

The P Zero product range was chosen for two OE fitments in the market. The new Jaguar Coupé will be fitted with 21 inch P Zero Nero tyres and the Ford Mercury with a concept P Zero tread design.

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21st January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Nurture Talent

Product News

With just weeks to go until the beginning of this year’s F1 season Bridgestone has announced a pan-European search for talented young journalists.

The official tyre partner to Ferrari, Jordan Grand Prix and Minardi F1 has pledged to “nurture the next generation of motorsport talent,” and so Bridgestone e-reporter is offering a chance of a lifetime to students hoping to pursue a career in journalism.

An independent jury will select seven finalists to attend a European Grand Prix to report on the GP2 series, meeting the drivers behind the championship. The articles will be published on the Bridgestone Europe and GP2 websites.

The winner will then win a once in a lifetime trip to Tokyo, Japan, visiting Bridgestone’s global headquarters and reporting on a major company event.

14th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Supply Superamerica

Product News

Bridgestone is to supply Potenza RE050 radial tyres for the Ferrari Superamerica. Delivery of the tyres, for factory installation on the newest Ferrari convertible, will begin this month.

The Superamerica is derived from the 575M Maranello and will be produced in limited edition. Powered with a 12-cylinder engine and featuring a rotating roof in combination with electrochromic technology, which allows the driver to adjust the amount of sunlight that shines into the cockpit.

12th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

2005 Golden Opportunity for Michelin

Product News

The new Formula 1 season will bring with it a “giant chance” to finally challenge for the world championship, Niki Lauda told the Home of F1 news services. The former Ferrari driver said new regulations often represent a “golden” opportunity to beat the pacesetter.

“Above all I see the new tyre rule as a chance for them” Niki Lauder said referring to the new rule limiting teams to a single set of tyres for both qualifying and the grand prix. When it comes to developing a brand new F1 tyre, he continued, Michelin have a distinct advantage for 2005.

“They have much more data, for example of Mercedes, BMW, Honda and Toyota, while Bridgestone has only Ferrari. And we know that tyres dictate victory and defeat,” he explained.

6th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Fun and Games in an Eventful F1 Season

Motorsport

The end of one era…and the beginning of another

Yes Michael Schumacher won his seventh championship and yes he set a new record for the number of wins in a season, but the fact remains that however great his achievements have been, many Formula 1 enthusiasts want to see different faces on the podium. However, those observers without any Ferrari allegiances need not complain. Whatever they say about the predictability of Formula 1 races, it has certainly been an eventful year off the track. In fact, some would say there has been more manoeuvring in the pit-lane and the boardroom than on the tarmac, with suggestions of team poaching, tyre stealing and driver pinching coming from every direction. In the midst of it all tyres have played a central role in both on and off track excitement.

5th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Aston Martin DB9 to Run on Potenzas

Product News

Following the release of the Aston Martin DB9, Bridgestone has announced that the new car will be fitted with Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tyres as original equipment. Like other tyres in the Potenza family the RE050 utilises a racing car nose-shaped tread pattern, which Bridgestone claims reduces the possibility hydroplaning. With an outer pattern featuring large blocks, the RE050 is also designed to improve handling and road holding, while its larger contact area has been manufactured to improve cornering performance.

Powered by a 450 bhp six-litre V12 engine, the DB9 will replace the DB7, Aston Martin most successful car. Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tyres are fitted to a range of supercars including the Ferrari Enzo and F430, Porsche 911, Mercedes SL55 AMG. The Aston Martin DB9 will run on 235/40 ZR19 (front) and 275/35 ZR19 (rear) RE050s.

14th December 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Kingsway Tyres helps Children in Need

Product News

Kingsway Tyres has helped raise more than £4,500 for Children in Need. The dealership worked with a local ASDA store and some television celebrities providing a day of fund-raising activity in Corby, Northamptonshire. The celebrities, including TV chef Rusty Lee and presenter Paul Ross, competed in a series of challenges ranging from leg waxing to competing for the best lap time in a motor racing simulator, provided by Kingsway Tyres’ parent company Bridgestone UK.

“It was a very successful event,” said Bruce Cleghorn, area manager at Kingsway Tyres. “It felt good to aid the Children in Need cause, and everyone had a fun day out too. “Not only were the celebrities that took part in the event very generous to give up their time, but also the general public proved to be very charitable as more than £350 of the total collected was raised from photos with the car and rides on the simulator,” added Bruce.

The tyre dealership, which has 16 outlets across the East Midlands and East Anglia, also brought a replica Ferrari Formula 1 car to the event, and members of the public were given the chance to have their photos taken with the impressive vehicle and also test their driving skills on the simulator in return for a charity donation.

26th November 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Looks Forward to Next Season

Product News

As supplier to both champion and more run-of-the-mill teams, Bridgestone is in an unusual position. The Bridgestone shod Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello may be perpetually on the podium, but Jordan and Minardi ‘s drivers are a long way off. Michelin, on the other hand, seems to supply everybody in between including race contenders.
Bridgestone’s, technical director, Hisao Suganuma, admitted to F1racing.net that only having Ferrari and Jordan and Minardi is disadvantage. “With the new regulations, we have to do a lot of testing. Next year we cannot change tyres in the race anymore, so we have to make a different type of tyre. We need to do a lot of long distance runs and that is difficult. Sauber went to our competitor Michelin, but we have to live with that.”

Meanwhile, Ferrari has a new test driver in Marc Gené who previously worked for Williams and therefore with Michelin tyres. Mr Suganuma is keen to hear about some of Michelin’s secrets. “We really are looking forward to our chat. I am not sure if [Marc Gené] will tell us everything he knows about Michelin, but of course I am hoping he will,” Mr Suganuma told the website.

26th November 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Japan’s ‘best import’ car for 2004

Product News

The Maserati Quattroporte has won the “2004 Import Car of the Year” award, from the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame Association (JAHFA). It achieved the award on its brand image, style, craftsmanship, value for money and for being the “ultimate choice for the car connoisseur.”

16th November 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

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