The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. plans to expand production capacity for motorsport tyres at its Mishima facility in Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture. Yokohama Rubber will invest about ¥3.8 billion (£19.4 million) in a new line that will produce 18-inch and larger motorsports tyres, expanding the plant’s capacity for motorsports tyres by 35 per cent.
The FIA updated its list of homologated suppliers for tyre barcodes and RFID tags on 22 February, and for the first time this list features a Chinese tyre maker – Sailun Group. Reporting its inclusion on the ‘List of Suppliers for Tyre Barcodes and RFID Tags Homologated by the FIA’, Sailun says it is now able to exclusively provide racing tyres for numerous international professional racing events.
Following the news that Avon’s ex-motorsport head has formed the Nova Motorsport tyre brand, Goodyear has confirmed to Tyres & Accessories that its Cooper Europe operation is “in advanced discussions” relating to the sale of certain Avon motorsport tyre assets.
UK compounder SPC Rubber Group has formed a new tyre brand targeting the global motorsport market. Nova Motorsport founder and SPC Rubber managing director Paul Hallas said the company will focus “solely on low-volume racing and specialist tyres,” looking forward to announcing its first products and international partnerships in 2024. With a website and social media channels already in place, Nova will take its public bow at Retromobile – The Classic Car Show in Paris (31 January to 4 February 2024, Hall 1, Stand M-002). Nova has also recruited strong segment experience in its leadership team, including former Avon Motorsport head Paul Coates. Nova launches shortly after Goodyear’s closure of the Cooper Tire manufacturing facility in Melksham, the historical home of Avon and its motorsport operations. Nova is headquartered in Wiltshire, the same UK county as Melksham. “Nova”, as will already be apparent to those in the tyre industry, is Avon in reverse, perhaps a nod to a UK brand with a long motorsport heritage, whose future is being reconfigured under its new owner.
Giti Tire Motorsport and Team Oliver Racing enjoyed another successful season in the British Truck Racing Championship (BTRC) with Stuart Oliver securing a top three finish in the standings. The manufacturer also maintained its role as Official Partner and Exclusive Tyre Supplier for 2023, with all trucks racing on the Giti Race-Tuned v1 competition truck tyres in size 315/70R22.5.
Tyre makers often refer to the ‘race to road’ technology transfer when talking about motorsport engagements, but ‘race to loading bay’ is something that perhaps only Continental can claim bragging rights for. The tyre maker is using carbon black from recycled racing tyres in its production of solid tyres.
The Hankook logo remains at the top of the SuperTaikyu official website, but the South Korean tyre manufacturer has backed away from supplying the Japanese endurance racing series after its production was hit by a serious fire at its Daejeon factory roughly six weeks ago.
In a three-year deal beginning in 2024, Goodyear will become exclusive tyre supplier to the LMGT3 category in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series. It is currently developing new tyres for the category and will test these in Europe and America together with several GT3 manufacturers later this year. Goodyear comments that “tyre longevity will be a key focus.”
As a contribution to carbon neutrality in motorsport, Yokohama Rubber is now powering its motorsport tyre production line in Mishima, Japan with electricity from renewable sources. Furthermore, certain tyres produced on this line contain 33% sustainable materials.
Sponsors tend to come and go in the fast-moving world of motorsport, making Kumho’s relationship with the BMW Racing Drivers Club one of the longest of its type in UK club history – the opening race of the season at Brands Hatch on 8 April will mark its 26th year.
Giti Tire has signed a multi-year global co-branding agreement with Sparco, one the world’s leading manufacturers of motorsport safety systems and racing equipment. The Giti brand becomes global automotive tyre partner of the Italian brand under the deal, while the slogan “Giti – Powered by Sparco” will appear on the sidewall of key UHP sizes from 2024. The development of these products will form a “bridge” between the businesses, according to Sparco.
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.
Kumho has replaced Michelin as control tyre supplier to TCR Australia, adding the race series down under to a touring car championship portfolio that already sees it providing tyres for TCR Europe, TCR South America, TCR Brazil, TCR Spain, TCR Eastern Europe and TCR Denmark. The tyre maker will also supply control tyres for the new in 2023 TCR World Tour.
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.
Formula 1 isn’t the only race series switching to an 18-inch tyre. When the NASCAR Next Gen stock car makes its regular season debut at the Daytona 500 on Sunday 20 February, drivers will compete on the newly designed Goodyear Eagle race tyres for the first time in a points-paying race.
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