The FIA and Pirelli have signed a new four-year agreement in support of the FIA’s Action for Road Safety campaign. As a global partner of the campaign, Pirelli will promote the FIA’s ‘10 Golden Rules’ for road safety through all of its networks. Pirelli will also organise training programmes, as well as projects to raise awareness on safe driving, in collaboration with a selection of FIA Member Clubs.
The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has chosen Goodyear as the exclusive tyre partner for the FIA European Truck Racing Championship for the next three years. The partnership extends and expands Goodyear’s long involvement in the series for which it has been producing special developed truck racing tyres since 2004. The tyre manufacturer was rewarded for the proven performance of its tyres with the renewal of its contact, which makes Goodyear a partner of the newly formed ETRA Promotion GmbH (ETRA) – the series’ new promotor.
The FIA World Motor Sport Council has formally approved new 2016 tyre regulations for Formula One, including an extended slick range and the availability of three compounds per race weekend, at its meeting in Paris. Exclusive tyre supplier Pirelli will introduce a new slick compound, the P Zero Purple ultrasoft, which was tested in Abu Dhabi following the conclusion of the 2015 season. It takes its place as the softest compound, with the existing designations retained. Rules regarding intermediate and wet tyres remain unchanged.
Michelin’s Pilot Sport EV has helped Formula E to overcome difficult weather conditions in Putrajaya, Malaysia, despite temperatures in excess of 30°C, a track temperature of almost 50°C and humidity levels of between 60 and 90 per cent. Round 2 of the 2015/2016 Formula E ePrix featured the same format as 2014, with a 12-turn, 2.5km track and the start brought forward by two hours to 2:04pm local time in order to minimise the threat of wet weather. Torrential rain swept over the city an hour after the chequered flag was shown. The hot, damp conditions made the day hard not only for the drivers, but also for the battery of their all-electric single-seater racing cars.
Formula E’s eighth round was staged over the weekend at Berlin’s former Tempelhof Airport; an unusual backdrop for a track described by tyre supplier Michelin as one of the most delicate of the season for tyres. The twisty 17-turn, 2.47km course was dusty and dirty early in the day due to the relative lack of traffic, while its concrete slabs were particularly abrasive. The circuit’s width also allowed drivers to run three abreast in places, meaning heavy braking and hard acceleration were a feature of the event. These conditions present an obvious challenge for tyres to which Michelin’s grooved Pilot Sport EV rose.
The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile has today revealed the eight manufacturers who will enter the all-electric FIA Formula E Championship in season two – further increasing the series’ credentials as a test bed for the development of electric vehicle technology. For the inaugural 2014/2015 season, the 10 Formula E teams all compete using identical single-seaters – the Spark-Renault SRT_01E – utilising a powertrain by McLaren Electronic Systems. From the 2015/2016 season, the series will become an open championship allowing manufacturers to pursue their own in-house innovations, beginning with the development of bespoke powertrains. Michelin is currently the tyre supplier to the series, alongside global supply partner Protyre Motorsport, as well as a founding partner. Having started in Beijing last year, the first season ends in Central London, with a circuit expected to be formed within Battersea Park to host the final two rounds.
Leading road safety charity the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has called for traffic education to become an integral part of the National Curriculum, in an effort to cut the numbers of young people killed and injured on UK roads. The call ties in with a survey by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) which found only eight of 15 European countries had mandatory traffic education in schools.
Dunlop will seek to extend its 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans success into next year as the manufacturer launches its 2015 GT testing programme. Dunlop also signalled its intention to expand its endurance racing activities to include new specification tyres for ‘open tyre’ GT classes.
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