Barichello Wins Italian Grand Prix
The Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello drove to victory at Monza for the Brazilian’s first win of the season.
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Bridgestone’s Motorcycle Performance Claims Podium Position
Product NewsMakoto Tamada surprised spectators with his impressive performance at the Portuguese Grand Prix this weekend. In his Bridgestone-fitted Camel Honda RC 211 V the Japanese driver, who won the Rio-Grand Prix in July, took second place in the race. World Champion Valentino Rossi took pole position and Brazilian Alex Barros came in third place.
Bridgestone believes the result “confirmed the qualities of the latest Bridgestone compound generation.” John Hopkins claimed sixth place on his Suzuki GSV-R he commented: ” After qualifying, I knew that our Bridgestone tyres had very consistent grip, so I saved it all for a final attack on Carlos Checa. I managed to get ahead of him onto the back straight, but then I ran onto the white line and went wide, and he got by again. Horsepower is our biggest issue at the moment, and you have to ride the corners really hard to make up for it. But even though I would have liked to finish fifth, this was a great race. My team gave me a good bike today, and the tyres were exceptional.”
Japanese Auto Sales
Product NewsGlobal Automotive Daily has published the Japanese auto sales for August, stating that a 2.1 per cent increase in vehicle sales has ended the market’s six month consecutive decline. Mini vehicle sales were also up by 2.6 per cent which continued nine months of growth. Analysts say that the vehicle recovery is mainly due to a low of comparison base, as August 2003 was down by 2.6 per cent, and growth of the big players like Toyota and Honda.
Round Eight “THINK” British Superbike Championship
Product NewsFife sees the eighth round of the British Superbike Championship this weekend, which will be held at the Knockhill Circuit. After a disappointing seventh round, Dunlop Motorsport believes to be “well prepared for all eventualities.”
Round Seven of the British Superbike Championship.
Product NewsAt the halfway stage of the 2004 series, Dunlop shod machines continue their success as they lead the British Championship class on the BSB calendar.
Once again Dunlop will endeavour to maintain this racing success rate at Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit this coming weekend.
Hyundai Outperforms Toyota In Quality Test
Product NewsIn the USA, JD Power has carried out a study of new vehicles and their defect rates, polling 51,000 owners of new cars in the first 90 days of ownership. Those marques scoring above the industry average of defects per 100 vehicles were Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and BMW. Hyundai fared better than Toyota for the first time, with respective scores of 102 and 104. However, it should be noted that the Toyota score does not include the Lexus Division, which once again proved to be the top-quality vehicle.
Honda and Nissan want the PAX system for the American market
Product NewsThe Japanese car makers Honda and Nissan have decided to bring new models onto the American market that are to be equipped with Michelin’s PAX system, writes Modern Tire Dealer referring to an announcement made earlier this week at the Detroit Auto Show. The French tyre manufacturer hopes to achieve a bigger share on the market. The PAX system itself will be produced in the United States.
BAR-Honda 2004 On Michelin Or Bridgestone Tyres?
Product NewsMay BAR-Honda switch from Bridgestone to Michelin tyres in 2004 or not? F1 driver Jenson Button doesn’t “know anything about that at the moment,“ he told “As far as I know they’ve just talked about it.“ Bridgestone and BAR have a contract for another Formula One season.
Honda net profit up 58 per cent
Product NewsHonda’s net profit for the third quarter was up 58 per cent to 137.36 billion Yen (1.08 bn Euro). The main reasons were strong sales of the Accord in China and the USA, plus good US sales of the Pilot and Element SUVs. Operating profit was down slightly at 151.69 billion Yen (1.2 bn Euro), compared with 153.05 billion Yen for the same period last year. Despite the good figures, Honda says that full year revenue will probably be lower than forecast, due to unfavourable currency movements and continued low sales in Japan.
BAR-Honda to switch to Michelin
Product NewsDespite Ferrari’s F1 Championship win on Bridgestone tyres, BAR-Honda, the second-most successful Bridgestone team in this year’s competition, has announces that it will switch to Michelin tyres for next season’s campaign. Bridgestone is investigating the legal implications of the request, while Michelin regards the move as a vote of confidence in its F1 tyres.
Bridgestone celebrates MotoGP success
Product NewsOn Saturday 20th September Bridgestone celebrated a podium finish for its rider Makoto Tamada at the Rio De Janerio MotoGP. The Pramac Honda rider produced an immaculate display to claim a thoroughly deserved third place finish marking Bridgestone’s first podium since deciding to enter the premier class at the beginning of 2002. Bridgestone’s ecstatic technicians could barely conceal their delight after watching Tamada cut a swathe through the field in the 24-lap race, run in searing hot temperatures at a sun-drenched Rio de Janeiro.
Car-makers’ Productivity Gap Narrows
Product NewsEuropean and US car manufacturers are catching up with their Japanese counterparts in Europe in terms of productivity. Toyota, Honda and Nissan averaged 87.5 cars per worker, in a report issued by the World Markets Research Centre – the European average is 58.6 cars/worker. But the gap is narrowing; Europe-based Japanese companies improved productivity by 5.4 per cent last year, while the improvement average for non-Japanese European manufacturers was 7 per cent.
300th Victory For Michelin
Product NewsSete Gibernau, riding a Honda, notched up Michelin’s 300th premier class Grand Prix victory at Assen recently, almost exactly 30 years after the brand’s first premier class success (by Australian rider Jack Findlay at the Isle of Man in 1973, riding a Suzuki). The top nine finishers at Assen all rode on Michelins and Gibernau’s victory made in 77 in a row for the French tyre maker. So far this season in the premier class, Michelin riders have won every race, taken every pole position and filled every podium.
Goodyear Launches Tubeless Radials For Indian Market
Product NewsIn India, Goodyear has launched a range of tubeless radial tyres, designed specifically for Indian road conditions. The tyres will fit Indian vehicles such as the Maruti 800, Santro, Ikon and Honda City and the aim is to improve fuel efficiency and safety.
Rosenthal Buys Fieldens
Product NewsNeil Rosenthal has acquired Fieldens, the Stowmarket-based supplier of specialist agricultural wheels and tyres and Honda ATV dealer. Neil Rosenthal was formerly Director (Wheels/OE) at tyre and wheel distributors Kirkby (Tyres) and has 15 years’ experience in the business. All 20 existing staff will be retained and Neil will become Managing Director. Financial details of the deal were not revealed.
