MOTORSPORT
Cooper Tire Europe will help two very different teams to build on the success they experienced in the 2013 Dakar when the 35th edition of the event begins on 5 January in Rosario, Argentina. Catalan rally ace and Cooper Europe 4×4 ambassador, Xavi Foj is looking for his third successive T2 Production Class title on Cooper rubber, while the Race2Recovery team returns to build on its impressive achievements in 2013.
The UK distributor of Spanish 4×4 retread tyre brand Insa Turbo has reported “extremely strong” growth for the product, having increased year-on-year sales by more than a third in 2013. Micheldever (MTS)’s 4×4 specialist division Southam Tyres said unit sales have risen by 36 per cent, as sales director Alan Baldwin suggested several reasons for the brand’s strong performance.
The UK’s biggest selling superbike magazine has awarded the Dunlop D212 GP Pro its ‘Tyre of the Year’ honour in the 2013 Fast Bikes Awards. The supersport tyre, launched in 2013, received the accolade in the magazine’s round up of 2013’s leading motorcycles, accessories and events.
Dmack is to augment its continued role as authorised tyre supplier to the FIA World Rally Championship with a two car team in the WRC2 series. The British brand, manufactured in China by Shandong Yongtai, has announced the signing of Estonia’s Ott Tänak, who will join Finn Jari Ketomaa in a pair of Ford Fiesta R5 rally cars as the newly-formed Drive Dmack world rally team starts its campaign. Dmack has also announced a new range of rally tyres, as well as an extension of 60 sizes to its PCR range, coming in 2014.
Remember when you were 10 and Scalextric was top of your Christmas list? Then you’ll love this: Renault has produced a viral video showing off its electric cars competing in a life-size Scalextric race around central London. Electric vehicles are no strangers to motorsport – either in full-size racing, as Renault will show with its partners in 2014 with the FIA Formula E championship, or in miniature in the form of the ever-popular skirting-board scarring Scalextric models. Drawing inspiration from these two ends of the spectrum, Renault’s team hatched the idea to take things one step further and race two full-size ZOEs on a Scalextric track.
Pirelli began testing its prototype 2014 F1 tyres at the Bahrain International Circuit yesterday, and while the official data gleaned from the 2013 cars run by the Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and Torro Rosso teams is a closely-guarded secret, the tyres that took to the track in Sakhir are rumoured to make for slower lap times than those achieved during this year’s season.
Building upon the success of its inaugural support of the Under 17 Motor Club in 2013, Falken Tyre Europe is helping more young drivers to get involved in motorsport by providing tyres for the Autosolo event at Autosport International, which takes place at the NEC between 9 and 14 January 2014.
Hosetechnik, the performance braking division of Forge Motorsport, has released a raft products to help owners of classic and retro cars, as well as owners of cars with the harder to find Wilwood brake tapered threads.
Maxxis International is to launch its latest generation high performance tyre at Autosport International, as well as showcasing the motorsport vehicles it supports. The new tyre, the VS01, which is an updated version of the MAS2, ensures that Maxxis’ range of tyres covers the latest performance car marques, making it one of the most desired high performance tyres at the moment.
Pirelli and Formula One teams will be allowed to hold a tyre test using 2013 cars next week after the FIA gave its consent in the form of a regulation change. At a meeting of the F1 Strategy Group and the Formula One Commission in Paris on 9 December, the FIA agreed that instead of […]
Dunlop says it is delighted to announce the sponsorship of Dantec Husqvarna UK for the 2014 motocross season. The former Evotech Stevens KTM team is the official Husqvarna MX1 and MX2 team for the UK with a three rider line-up; the team has retained Steven Lenoir to compete in the MX2 class and has announced the signing of 19 year-old Nathan Watson for MX1, as well as 17 year-old MXY2 rider Tony Saunders to complete the squad. All three will ride on Dunlop’s latest Geomax MX32 and MX52 tyres.
Taiwan’s Federal Tyres has signed up as title sponsor of the ‘King of Europe’ drift series. The tyre maker will give its brand name to the King of Europe Street Legal and the Queen of Europe Ladies League for the 2014 season and will also be the official tyre sponsor.
Following the 2011 and 2012 Formula One seasons, Pirelli published all the key figures pertinent to its tyre supply. Now at the conclusion of its initial supply agreement, the Italian tyre maker has presented figures from its entire tenure to date. “This year, we wanted to talk about all the numbers from the three-year period […]
Speaking at the close of this year’s MotoGP season, Bridgestone’s motorsport manager Hiroshi Yamada shared that in 2014 the tyre maker’s race experience will be brought to market in a pair of new products. “We will be releasing two production Battlax motorcycle road tyres next year that will draw on recent MotoGP technological developments,” commented Yamada. “Both these tyres will probably be the purest example to date of our ‘racetrack to road’ concept and will offer exceptionally high levels of safety, performance and control to consumers.” The motorsport manager added that 2014 will be a “big year for Bridgestone both on and off-track.”
Dunlop has helped Oak Racing to claim the 2013 LMP2 World Endurance Championship (WEC), and G-Drive Racing to a race victory at the 6 Hours of Bahrain, the final round of the 2013 series. Dunlop Engineer, Matt Rees congratulated Oak Racing “for the championship win and having the #24 car in second place in the series. They have had a good season and deserve the title.”
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