Motorsport Archives - Page 104 of 129 - Tyrepress

MOTORSPORT

Posts

Kumho Revels in Le Mans and F3 Successes

Kumho’s European motorsport division has enjoyed considerable success across a range of motorsport series in 2007. Perhaps the highlight of the year was the success of the Le Mans LMP2 class-winning Lola Zytek of Binnie Motorsports. As the car was shod with Kumho Tyres, Binnie’s success represented an historic achievement for the Korean tyre manufacturer, competing at Le Mans for only the third time.

Kumho supported both the Binnie Motorsports entry, comprised of Bill Binnie (US), Allen Timpany (GB) and Chris Buncombe (GB), and the Kruse Motorsport Pescarolo Judd of Tony Burgess (Can), Jean de Pourtales (Fr) and Norbert Siedler (Aut). The Binnie Car won LMP2 outright and finished 18th overall. Sadly the Kruse car did not survive the full 24 hours.

Said Bill Binnie: “We experienced just about every type of weather during the race from dry/warm conditions to torrential rain and used Kumho’s full arsenal of tyres as a result. They all performed admirably and were a key element of our victory.”

31st October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Making the Right Impression

All ten of the world’s top ten tyre manufacturers were present in China in some shape or form by 2005, and each of these global giants has its own big plans for this market. Michelin intends to increase its car and light commercial tyre market share to 4 per cent of its worldwide sales by 2010 and to double this share again within another decade, and Bridgestone’s mid-term target in China is to grab a 20 per cent market share in 2008.

So the obvious question for local tyre manufacturers in China is what place do they have in this huge and growing market? The OE market is dominated by the international brands that have a long history of cooperation with global vehicle manufacturers, making it a market that local tyremakers have difficulty penetrating. This leaves the aftermarket as the main avenue for pursuing sales, and this sector poses its own set of problems for Chinese manufacturers.

30th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Climbing the Ladder

In every sport a handful of championships typically bask in the lion’s share of media coverage and public attention, and motorsport is no exception to this phenomenon. Mention motor racing and most people will automatically think Formula One, WRC or one of the leading touring car events. Top drivers at this competitive level enjoy the status of being the Wayne Rooneys of their chosen series, and in terms of sponsorship can do very well indeed in their chosen profession.

But just as quality football also can be found in divisions below the Premier League, placing a focus solely upon the big name motorsport championships is to miss out on the opportunity to both witness a spectacle every bit as – and sometimes more – exciting than the high profile series events, and to follow the progression of racing’s most talented drivers through the various championships.

26th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Three New MAK Wheels to Hit UK Roads

The UK distributor for the Italian MAK range of replacement alloy wheels, Yokohama HPT Ltd, has announced three new models for the UK market. According to Yokohama HPT, the three new designs “capture the manufacturer’s flair for design” whilst epitomising MAK’s reputation for quality and longevity.

The first of the three wheels is the Volare, a design featuring 20 narrow spokes that spread from the mounting face right out to the edge of the wheel rim. A slight step at the rim is intended to increase the perception of size, and the combination of these two elements is said to lend the wheel a very contemporary, motorsport feel. The Volare comes in a range of sizes, beginning at 15-inch and running up to 9.5×19-inch, and is available in both four and five-stud patterns. Prices begin at £93.95 including VAT and the Volare features a mirror polished face with gunmetal body.

25th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Federal Tyres’ “Fruitful” 2007

For Federal Tyres this year, the second in which the company has placed an emphasis upon motorsports involvement, has been fruitful. At the very beginning of the year Federal was appointed naming right sponsor and official tyre supplier to the 2007 X Challenge series, an Australian based one-make championship for Lotus cars. This was followed up by a sponsorship deal in Federal Tyre’s native Taiwan with the AIC Drift Team. The manufacturer hand picked the team itself and hopes its decision to sponsor this growing sport will further encourage local companies to place their support behind motorsport in the island.

25th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Federal & Hero Welcome Friends at SEMA

The SEMA Show is again around the corner, taking place between October 30 and November 2 in the Las Vegas Convention Center. In attendance at SEMA in 2007 is Federal Tyre, who wishes to extend its hospitality to existing and new friends.

Strongly inspired by motorsport themes, this year’s Federal Tyres stand at SEMA will be home to a vast array of the manufacturer’s tyres, including the FZ201, 595RPM and 595RS. Also present will be D1 Grand Prix Drifting founder and Option Magazine Publisher Daijiro Inada, who will sign autographs alongside his Nissan 180SX. And attendees whose blood does not get pumped by drifting can enjoy the many talents of the “Federal promo-girl squad”, who will offer ‘photo opportunities’ and hand out tattoo stickers.

As if all this wasn’t enough, the 112 square metre stand will also accommodate product lines from the fine-tuning Hero range, including a 16-inch fitment of the Atlanta AR01 PCR; Milanza HZ1 ultra-high performance tyre in a 20-inch size and Dynastorm A/T in 245/70R16. More sophisticated Federal products such as the 595EVO, 595RPM and Couragia A/T are expected to cater for the growing US appetite for this type of product, and offer the following benefits:

24th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

MotoGP to Remain a Multi Tyre Series

The spectre of a single tyre rule that has lingered over MotoGP since late September has evaporated. On October 24 series organiser Dorna Sports withdrew the single tyre championship proposal from the Grand Prix Commission.

Originally suggested by Dorna’s Carmelo Ezpeleta at the Japanese Grand Prix on September 22, the proposal was not well received by many riders, including high profile current champion Casey Stoner, who believed such a plan would change the entire nature of the series. The idea also apparently failed to capture the enthusiasm of both Bridgestone and Michelin.

24th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Marangoni Makes it Four in a Row

Italian tyre manufacturer Marangoni is celebrating an unprecedented fourth year of motorsport success after Simone Faggioli won the Italian Hillclimb Championship for a third time with his Zeta Linea Racing-shod, Facetti-tuned Honda-powered Osella PA21S. This adds to the Florentine driver’s incredible record of winning the 2004 and 2006 Italian Hillclimb Championship and a European 2005 title.

The hard-fought 2007 Championship saw some outstanding drives from Faggioli in his bid to retain his title. The longest Championship round, the 17 kilometre Trento Bondone hill, saw mechanical gremlins preventing overall honours at this event but a class win for Faggioli, from strong running team-mate Christian Merli (2nd), with fellow team members David Baldi (4th) and Guilo Regosa (6th). With each of these drivers running Marangoni tyres it was without a doubt a pleasing performance for the tyremaker.

Simone opted out of the Coppa Bruno Carotti climb to manage Team Faggioli, but returned to the cockpit for the 9th Cronscalata del Reventino to record an outright victory. The 46th Coppa Paolino Teodori saw an accident for the Osella and Faggioli slipping to second place in the standings. Heroic efforts by the team to rebuild the car were rewarded with a dominant performance in the 45th Cronoscalata Svolte di Popoli and further victories in the 25th Pedavena/Croce d’Aune and 53rd Coppa Nissena to clinch the Championship.

23rd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Real Cars – Real Racing

By the time November’s Tyres & Accessories lands in readers’ mailboxes the final round of the FIA WTCC will most likely have been fought out in Macau and the winners of both the Drivers and Manufacturers Championships – both close run affairs at the end of round 20 in Monza – will be known to all. But for now we can only speculate whether or not a UK driver will stand victorious on the dais come November 18.

Whatever the outcome, 2007 has been a spectacular season for the championship, with the round contested on British soil no exception. The Brands Hatch circuit served as host to the WTCC on the weekend of September 22-23, and the four UK drivers competing in the two rounds presented their home crowd with very respectable results. The first race saw two local lads amongst the quickest three drivers across the line, with Alfa Romeo driver James Thompson and BMW’s Colin Turkington recording times less than a second behind race winner, Chevrolet’s Alain Menu. The afternoon’s racing ended with the UK’s Andy Priaulx, competing in a BMW320si, in first place. Third and fourth places were also grabbed by local drivers Robert Huff and Colin Turkington.

23rd October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Tyre Supplier for new Speedcar Series

Michelin has signed a deal with Speedcar Series to provide racing rubber for all cars over the next three seasons. The new championship, which will be contested on circuits in Asia, the Middle East and Australasia, gets underway on January 26 at the Dubai Autodrome and all drivers will be competing on 33/70.15 tyres that have been designed specifically to suit track and weather conditions in Asia and the Middle East.

The partnership with Speedcar will increase Michelin’s global motorsport portfolio, which already includes teams in single-seaters, rally, sportscars and motorcycling, as well as their profile in the region. Benjamin Durand, technical manager of Speedcar Series said: “We are delighted to announce our official partnership with Michelin, a company with a wealth of knowledge and experience garnered from over a century of racing in many different championships. Their input and support will be invaluable to the Speedcar Series. We are looking forward to the development of our relationship with excitement, and are convinced that together we will be able to further the development of the motor racing industry in the respective countries visited by the series.”

19th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Keeping it Together

The organisers of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship maintain the provision of sustainable solutions to the environmental impact that results from UK rallying events as one of their top priorities. Following on from the introduction of a “greener” control fuel, a partnership set up by the BRC with Pirelli Tyre and the Forestry Commission will examine tyre technologies with a view to developing a product that will have positive economic and environmental benefits. Thus, on the back of its participation as partner and official tyre supplier to the BRC, Pirelli has joined forces with these two parties to carry out an evaluation and tyre development programme with the aim of reducing damage to forest roads.

19th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Giovanardi Takes BTCC Championship by the Slimmest of Margins

A second place finish in the BTCC season finale has seen Fabrizio Giovanardi crowned this year’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Champion. The final race at Hampshire’s Thruxton circuit, which ended two laps early following an accident involving Mike Jordan in the Team Eurotech Honda, saw Giovanardi pull ahead of his nearest rival in the points stakes, Seat driver Jason Plato. Victories for Giovanardi in the day’s first two races saw Plato’s nine point lead in the championship evaporate, and by the end of proceedings on October 14 Giovanardi had 300 points under his belt, a winning margin of just three.

Italy’s Giovanardi, driving for Vauxhall, is the 32nd different driver to take out the championship since the BTCC was first formed in 1958, and the Vauxhall team had double reason to celebrate. This season, the first in which it has fielded the Vectra, saw it regain the BTCC’s Manufacturer’s crown from arch-rival Seat, winning by 637 points to 623. But it is the Spanish make’s Seat Sport UK squad that has won the Teams’ title. Elsewhere, Colin Turkington was crowned the Independent Drivers’ Champion while his Team RAC BMW squad has taken the Independent Teams’ honours.

15th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Lamborghini Selects Beru for TPMS

Automotive engineering specialists Beru F1 Systems has announced that it is supplying its award-winning digital tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) DigiTyre to Lamborghini for the Gallardo and Murciélago platforms. The safety feature, developed using Beru F1 Systems’ extensive motorsport experience, is standard fit on US Gallardo and Murciélago models to comply with the TREAD act. (The TREAD act makes it mandatory for passenger vehicles and light trucks sold in the USA to be fitted with a pressure monitoring system).

Specialist and niche vehicle manufacturers rightly demand robust and integrated solutions,” says BERU F1 Systems’ managing director John Bailey. “The higher speeds, higher cornering forces and demands experienced by performance cars rule out many solutions currently available. Our system is robust, light yet still retains all the integration features such as end of line testing and dealer diagnostics that OEMs require.”

15th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

A1GP and Ferrari Announce Partnership

A1GP Chairman, Tony Teixeira, has announced a “ground breaking partnership” between Ferrari and the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. Ferrari has signed a six-year agreement to manufacture and supply all A1GP engines and will consult on the design and manufacture of all A1GP car chassis for use in Season Four (2008/09).

The partnership with Ferrari extends to an exclusive licensing agreement for all A1GP merchandise to use the Ferrari name and phrase ‘Powered by Ferrari’ from January 2008.

11th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric Wins Autocar 2007 Tyre Test

The Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric has been declared ‘Best Tyre’ by Autocar magazine, just a month after the new tyre’s domination of the Evo Magazine tyre test. Autocar tested Goodyear, Michelin, Continental, Pirelli and Bridgestone tyres on both front wheel drive and rear wheel drive cars. The Goodyear was the clear overall winner after winning in both categories.

The renowned UK weekly magazine had chosen the 138bhp Mondeo TDCi and the 268bhp Mercedes C350 to give a comparison between a typical large family car and a powerful rear wheel drive sports saloon respectively.

11th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors