MOTORSPORT
Michelin’s status as a culinary authority will come in handy at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (FoS) 2013; during this year’s event the tyre maker and Michelin guide publisher will draw visitors in with cooking demonstrations by Michelin starred chefs on its main exhibition stand.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries high performance tyre brand Falken is to supply its ZIEX ZE912 tyre to two grass roots motorsport series in the northwest of England, after agreeing to a new sponsorship and support scheme. Drivers in the Association of North Western Car Clubs (ANWCC) K11 Micra Challenge and the Under 17 Motor AutoSOLO Championship for Standard Cars will have access to free and subsidised tyres to qualifying competitors and others involved with the championship respectively.
With much of the grid employing different tyre strategies at the season-opening Australian grand prix, Pirelli’s Motorsport director Paul Hembery believes that the winning drive by Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen displayed the best understanding of the “deliberately bold” selection of rubber. Raikkonen won the Australian Grand Prix using a two stop strategy, having started the race on the P Zero Red supersoft tyre and then completing two stints on the P Zero White medium tyre. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, the Finnish driver’s closest rival used a three-stop strategy, as did the rest of the top six.
Taiwan’s Federal Tyres recently appointed Rito Marketing its exclusive distributor in Malaysia. Commenting on the decision, Jerry Lai, Asia sales executive of Federal’s Global Sales Division, commented: “Rito Marketing is a firm with an excellent reputation and we are sure they will be a first-rate ambassador in Malaysia for the Federal brand, as we hope our local customers will benefit from our product expertise and Rito’s market knowledge.”
Pirelli has a tweet or two in store for motorsport fans. The Formula One tyre supplier has launched a new Twitter page where Pirelli motorsport aficionados can share and receive news on the company’s worldwide events.
The 2013 rally season is still young, but Kumho shares it is ”already making its mark” on the UK championships. For example, Alex Allingham's ex-Prodrive Subaru Impreza N10 that took outright honours at the Rally Marketing Mid-Wales Stages event on 3 March did so courtesy of Kumho gravel tyres.
Toyo Tires has released four new sizes in its Proxes R888 range, aimed specifically at 19-inch staggered wheel fitments on a range of Porsche models. The new sizes are 325/30ZR19, 345/30ZR19, 245/35ZR19 and 265/35ZR19 meaning that for the first time, owners with these tyre requirements will be able to opt for the race-proven grip of the Proxes R888.
Pirelli tyres will feature as original equipment on four high-profile Geneva show debuts. The Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster and Maserati’s latest Quattroporte both feature bespoke versions the Italian tyre maker’s P Zero, while a tailor-made version of the P Zero Corsa will be supplied to the McLaren P1 and Ferrari’s Enzo replacement, the LaFerrari.
Cooper Tires has launched its fifth successive year as exclusive tyre supplier to the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 Series. The company has been involved for more than 30 of the championship’s 60 years, having supplied Avon brand tyres before moving to Cooper in 2009. The tyre supplier exemplifies British F3’s calibre with the high number of drivers who have graduated to Formula One – more than any other championship. Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen have all been both British F3 and Formula One World Champions. It is also the oldest Formula 3 category in the world.
Avon will begin its eighth successive year as sole tyre supplier to the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Oulton Park on Easter weekend. Launched on the evening of 7 March in London, the 2013 season features grids boosted by a number of European entries.
Falken Motorsports shares that it will field its Porsche 997 GT3 R in this year’s VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring and Nürburgring 24 Hours events. It says a raft of performance upgrades for its Porsche have been carried out and, coupled with an unchanged driver line up of Sebastian Asch, Peter Dumbreck, Wolf Henzler and Martin Ragginger, Falken Motorsports says it holds the “clear aim of a top ten finish in the 24 Hour event.”
Formula One’s teams have completed the third and final testing session in Barcelona prior to the season opening Australian grand prix. While times set by Mercedes teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso showed improvements on 2013’s second test at the same location, the weather in Spain was once again colder than anticipated, meaning that Formula One will enter the opening stages of the season with a degree of uncertainty about how they will perform on the new Pirelli P Zero slicks especially. However, lengthy practice in wet conditions during the first two days of the four-day meeting allowed teams more time on the Cinturato Blue and Green – wet and intermediate respectively – tyres, which could provide valuable data for the season ahead. While it is always a mug’s game to make too many predictions following practice, especially given the unpredictability of the first half of the 2012 season, the pace of Mercedes could shake up the established top three manufacturers.
Toyo’s Proxes R888 will be the control tyre for the Toyo Tires BRSCC Porsche Championship. The partnership deal includes title sponsorship for the 2013 season, which will see Boxsters and classic 924s battling for supremacy on the UK’s finest circuits. Toyo says that the skills of the participating drivers will make for some close racing, and the emphasis will be placed on preparing talents for future motorsport series while keeping costs manageable.
Having tested last week in colder than expected conditions, Pirelli will expect this week’s trip to Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya to offer Formula One teams a better idea of the combined performance of their 2013 cars on the new P Zeros. Taking place from Thursday to Sunday, the final four-day session will complete the 12 days of practice allowed before the season opening Australian grand prix in March. Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, said that he hoped to “find conditions that are slightly more representative, which will allow the teams to collect more relevant data.”
Organisers of the Michelin Clio Cup Series with Protyre, the newly established saloon car category that is intended to provide a highly cost-effective first step into competitive car racing in the UK, are pleased to reveal the latest technical details and pricing for the road-to-race conversion kit.
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