MOTORSPORT
Kumho established its European base in Frankfurt, Germany in January 1978. Now three decades later, the South Korean tyre manufacturer is aiming to celebrate its 30th anniversary with half a billion dollars-worth of European sales. The headquarters of Kumho’s European technical operations is located near Birmingham in the UK’s West Midlands. Having opened in June 1998, it will be celebrating its 10th anniversary later this year.
On January 27 Pirelli faced up to what it has called one of the most challenging weekends in its motorsport history, simultaneously competing in two of racing’s biggest events. As well as the Monte Carlo Rally, won by the Citroen C4 of Loeb and Elena, there was the Daytona 24 Hours – which witnessed the success of Montoya-Franchitti-Pruett-Rojas in the PZero Racing -equipped Lexus-Riley fielded by the Ganassi-Sabates team.
The former McLaren-Mercedes and Williams-BMW F1 driver underlined the extreme toughness of this opening round of the Grand-Am series, to which Pirelli is acting as sole tyre supplier between 2008 and 2010 – as is also the case for the WRC. During the Daytona race the lead changed an incredible 60 times, with 15 different cars and 25 different drivers taking it in turns to head the action in front of a chasing pack that numbered 66 competitors at the start.
The Valencia race circuit in Spain played host to Bridgestone’s medium compound Potenza for ten of Formula One’s eleven teams for the second test of 2008 on January 22-24. The medium compound Potenza dry grooved racing tyre was in action for the entirety of the test, which took place in dry conditions, with blue skies overhead on the first two days, but a mainly cloudy and overcast day three. No runs were completed using any of Bridgestone’s wet range of Potenza Formula One tyres.
Teams completed valuable evaluation work with both the latest and last season’s cars run to the 2008 regulations. New cars from BMW Sauber, Ferrari, Honda, McLaren, Red Bull, Renault, Toyota and Williams and were all put through their paces along with older cars from some of these teams as well as Force India and Toro Rosso. Super Aguri were not present at this test. Bridgestone Potenza Formula One tyres will be in use next week at Barcelona on 1-3 February, where Bridgestone’s hard compound Potenza will be used for the first time this year.
For Pirelli the start of the 76th Monte Carlo Rally marks an important new chapter in its sporting history. This event will be the first WRC rally in which all the teams will use Pirelli control tyres, as part of an exclusive three-year tyre supply deal. The Italian firm has produced three different types of tyre for the world rally season, one of which is available in two different versions. Pirelli’s choice of tyres has been guided by a strict specification brief from the FIA.
As well as the Pirelli PZero – designed for asphalt rallies – and the Pirelli Scorpion for gravel events, the all-new Pirelli Sottozero will be used on winter events. This tyre is available in a narrow size with longer studs, for heavy snow and ice such as is found in Sweden, and also a wider version with the option of adding short studs – which has been specially designed for the unique conditions of Monte Carlo event.
Bridgestone reports that Formula 1 teams are busy testing ahead of the 2008 season, with most running their new cars at the latest test session at Valencia in Spain, and teams have the benefit of racing on tyres that are fundamentally the same as those tried and tested last year. Interest in the new season seems at an all-time high with a staggering 35,000 crowding the track to watch the Ferrari duo of Felipe Massa and defending World Champion Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest times.
Perhaps most impressive, however, was Nico Rosberg who finished third on the timesheets in the new Williams FW30, which had only had its first shakedown the day before. Rosberg’s best time was just a tenth behind Raikkonen and two-tenths faster than McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen. The man most of the crowd had come to see – Spain’s double World Champion Fernando Alonso – finished the day with the sixth fastest time behind countryman and McLaren test-driver Pedro de la Rosa.
Toyo Tires reports that it has taken “the prime spot” at this year’s British International Motor Show. It is also said to have been the first tyre manufacturer to do so. In a statement Toyo Tires said that it hopes to capitalise on its highly visible presence and prime time location at this year’s event. Toyo Tires has previously maintained a presence at Goodwood Festival of Speed and other motorsport and motoring enthusiast events. So what prompted the move to this more mainstream audience?
BFGoodrich has launched its new Activan range of van tyres that have been specifically designed to cope with the demanding operating conditions faced by tyres fitted to these vehicles. Based on BFGoodrich motorsport technology developed through the company’s World Rally Championship participation, the Activan tyres are built to offer an excellent level of wet and dry grip while providing sturdy damage resistance.
The tyre’s tread area is made up of large tread blocks for maximum grip in dry conditions. There are also a high number of sipes in the tread pattern that cut through surface water on wet roads, offering grip and safety when the British weather begins doing what it does best. The tread compound selected for the Activan is one that provides the type of durability and resistance to wear commercial users rely upon, and reinforced sidewalls featuring two casing plies protect this often scuffed area from kerbing damage.
Goodyear’s Eagle F1 Asymmetric was recently rated best in a Tire Rack test. A comprehensive test of the new Goodyear tyre pitted it against three competitors in the “Max Performance” tyre category. The Tire Rack team tested the four tyres in road conditions – allowing subjective feedback on noise, ride quality and everyday handling, then judged the tyres in wet and dry conditions on the company’s test track. In summarizing the overall win for the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric, Tire Rack concluded, “An excellent Max Performance Summer tyre that almost does it all.” Goodyear representatives put the tyre’s success down to innovations like the tyre’s “Active CornerGrip(TM) Technology,” which puts an Aramid reinforcement in the inside sidewall of the tyre.
Bridgestone Motorsport had its first outing in the capacity of official tyre supplier to the Formula One world championships between January 14 and 16, when nine of the eleven competing teams attended the opening test of the 2008 season at the Jerez circuit in Spain. A mixture of 2007 and 2008 specification cars were tested by a variety of race and test drivers through the field over the three days, and in keeping with the 2008 regulations, teams ran without traction control and used the standard ECU.
Mixed weather conditions greeted all teams present – BMW Sauber and Honda Racing opted not to attend – and Bridgestone’s dry weather medium compound Potenza grooved racing tyre dominated the proceedings. The wet and extreme wet racing rubber were not wholly relegated to the tyre rack, however; conditions on Monday morning and Wednesday provided an opportunity for their use. Afterwards, Bridgestone Motorsport Technical Manager Tetsuro Kobayashi spoke of the lessons learned at Jerez:
Pirelli has announced that the Italian manufacturer will invest “extensively “in the UK and Eire and is delighted to promote national championships, supporting customers and competitors alike, speaking at January’s Autosport show. Pirelli representatives told Tyres & Accessproes that are “very pleased” to announce that the company has a new UK distributor of Rally Tyres in D Mack Tyres Ltd which is based in Cumbria and is run by the former head of Motorsport for Pirelli Ltd, Dick Cormack. In Ireland, Pirelli said it is delighted to continue its 10-year partnership with Pitlane Motorsport.
The organisers of the new GT Cup racing series have chosen Dunlop Motorsport as the sole tyre supplier to the inaugural series. The new televised series will consist of eight ‘double-header’ events at the UK’s top circuits, including Silverstone, Donington and Brands Hatch, and will be open to production GT cars such as Ferraris, TVRs and Porsches. Dunlop are a leading supplier to GT racing around the world, having won the GT2 class of the 2007 Le Mans Endurance Series with Virgo Ferrari team. Dunlop tyres are also used in other leading supercar and GT championships such as the International GT Open, Spanish Endurance Championship, Britcar, Dutch Supercar Challenge and Danish Endurance series.
Avon Tyres is heading into its third year of title sponsorship of the high profile UK sports car racing championship, the British GT Championship. Since 2006, iconic cars including the Aston Martin DBRS9, Ferrari 430 and Dodge Viper have battled it out for the British GT Championship, with 500bhp machines racing at the UK’s top circuits on Avon tyres.
This year, a new category has been introduced. To be known as GT4, the category features sports cars based more closely on production models than the race-bred GT3 machines that spearhead the series. “Last year’s championship was fantastic as it went down to the final round, and 2008 looks set to be even better,” said Julian Baldwin, managing director of Cooper Tire Europe. “As well as a good entry of GT3 cars already signed up to fight for the overall title, there has been a lot of interest in the GT4 category, both from new and existing teams. It all helps to add even more evocative sports cars to the grid and showcase our products in the most spectacular way.“
Bridgestone’s motorsport poster-boy for 2007, MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner, has told reporters he’s unconcerned about the threat rival Valentino Rossi may pose in the upcoming season following the Italian rider’s switch from Michelin to Bridgestone tyres. Speaking at an Italian ski resort, venue for the launch of a new Ducati cycle, Stoner commented: “Everyone is always asking me if we’re worried about it. We’re just worried about our own situation.
“I’m not afraid of the fact that Valentino is on Bridgestones,” stoner added. “We saw at the first test there was nothing in particular very special, but we will have to see as the season goes on.” Rossi finished the year two places behind his Australian counterpart, and his negative comments regarding the performance of his Michelin tyres were widely circulated in the media.
According to Yokohama HPT, there are a number of good reasons for visiting the company’s stand at Autosport International 2008. One of the greatest drawcards will naturally be the cars on display, and the Yokohama HPT stand will feature two notable specimens – the Lotus 2-Eleven, factory fitted with Yokohama Advan A048 tyres and the Yokohama Advan-shod, WTCC-winning BMW 3-Series driven by Andy Priaulx. The man himself will also put in appearance at the Yokohama HPT stand; visitors to the show can meet Andy Priaulx at 11.00am on Saturday January 12.
Dunlop will be celebrating its 2007 motorsport successes, and unveiling important new motorsport contracts at the Autosport International Show at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre on Thursday. When the show opens at the NEC, the company’s key stand means that once again, the iconic Dunlop bridge will be the first thing that the predicted 100,000 visitors will see when they enter Hall 9. Dunlop design, develop and manufacture motorsport tyres at Fort Dunlop in Birmingham, and in 2007 were victorious in international Superbike racing, 125cc and 250cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing. On four wheels, Dunlop is the choice for touring car championships around the world, with success in the British, German and Australian national championships.
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