MOTORSPORT
Catalan rally ace, Xavi Foj, and the Race2Recovery team are just days away from embarking on what is arguably motorsport’s most gruelling challenge – the Dakar Rally – on Cooper 4×4 tyres.
Maxxis returns to the Autosport International show (10-13 January, 2013) where it will not only be showing off its latest products, but will also be highlighting the brand’s motorsport links – not least with a drifting demonstration by Team Japspeed, winners of the constructor’s title in the 2012 Maxxis British Drift Championship.
Last month Mark Donnelly was named as Pirelli Star Driver 2013 and therefore the winner of a fully-paid drive in the 2013 British Rally Championship. According to the company, Donnelly impressed a panel of four judges with his maturity, technical know-how, media awareness and raw talent behind the wheel.
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations has supplied Firestone tyres to the IZOD IndyCar Series since the league began in 1996, and the tyre maker recently announced it will remain the series’ sole tyre supplier through the 2018 race season. “Firestone performance and safety have been synonymous with IndyCar racing for more than 100 years,” commented Al Speyer, executive director, Firestone Racing. “We are excited about the opportunity to continue the on going success of this series by extending the Firestone brand’s history in the sport through the 2018 season. We treasure the relationships we have fostered with the league, drivers, owners and various other partners involved with the sport through the years, and look forward to continuing our legacy of high performance for which Firestone tires are known.”
The two winners of this year’s Tyrepress.com competition have been decided. Peter Poyntz-Roberts, a Bridgestone UK consumer sales key account manager, and James Lomax from Bury, North Manchester will receive a pair of tickets each to Autosport International 2013 at the Birmingham NEC on 12 or 13 January. The prize will be posted in the first week of January 2013. Thank you to the many readers of Tyrepress.com and Tyres & Accessories who entered the competition and congratulations to both winners. We hope all visitors to the NEC enjoy what will undoubtedly be another great show.
Continental presented its estimation that the UK car, 4×4 and van tyre market remains worth around 33 million tyres at the launch of its partnership tyre supply deal with Mercedes-Benz World, a performance demonstration facility on the historical site of the Brooklands circuit. This number is similar to 2011, though Conti noted several trends affecting the make-up of this figure in 2012, most notably the growth in part worn tyre sales, estimated to represent just under 10 per cent of the total market. Initial signs of the impact of tyre labelling, introduced as a mandatory measure in November, are minimal, with premium segment sales holding up. Conti calls any current definitive assessment too early to truly assess, however premium tyre sales have held up well. Meanwhile the quality segment has come under pressure from aggressive pricing on either side, with brands in this segment struggling to maintain share, according to Conti.
In the motorcycle segment, Italian firm Pirelli offers something its competitors don’t; not one, but two unique brands – and one of these is Metzeler, the industry’s only two-wheel tyre specialist. Jim Worland, who is the product and marketing manager for Pirelli Tyres Ltd’s Moto business unit, recently spoke to Tyres & Accessories about the latest products and developments from both brands.
Pirelli says that the way the grid for the British Superbike Championship is shaping up, 2013 should be another competitive season. Reigning champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne will go head-to-head with the returning Ryuichi Kiyonari as title contenders, and Pirelli says that the battle will decide the most successful rider in BSB history. The Italian tyre supplier now supports Superbike, Supersport, Superstock 1000, Superstock 600, Triumph Triple Challenge and the Ducati 848 Challenge classes as sole tyre supplier, making 2013 its most committed year in the prestigious championship.
Italian racing team AF Corse claimed its second Gulf 12 Hours win on Avon tyres in 2012 at the Yas Marina Circuit last week, in the final race of the Cooper brand’s 2012 motorsport season. The AF Corse team, which recently announced its entry to the Avon Tyres British GT Championship in 2013, took the spoils by the excitingly small margin of 2.6 seconds in the first Gulf 12 Hours Race, held at the Herman Tilke-designed circuit back in January. Victory in the second event of the year was decidedly more convincing, with the lead AF Corse Ferrari crossing the line nearly half a minute clear of the rest of the field in its second visit to the Emirati capital.
After 38 years with the company, the executive director of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations’ motorsports activities will retire next year. At present no successor has been named.
Micheldever wholesale director Alan Baldwin virtually declared war on illegal tyres recently, with a media campaign designed to generate considerable media interest. This resulted in him undertaking some 13 radio interviews recently reaching over 1 million radio listeners in the UK.
Pirelli has confirmed it will appear at the annual Autosport International Show in Birmingham where the Italian tyre manufacturer will showcase a motorsport-focused display that includes the new Pirelli Star Driver Citroen DS3 R3.
From 2013 onwards, the Lotus on Track Racing Drivers Club will use the Avon Motorsport ZZR range as its control tyre. The track day club has signed a three-year tyre supply agreement with Avon Tyres covering its race championships across the UK and Europe. Avon will supply the ZZR for competitors in the Lotus Elise Trophy and the Lotus Cup Europe; during the deal’s first year it will also provide wet weather racing tyres.
With a technical background that includes a stint as a motorsport technician working in the UK 30 years ago, Yokohama’s president went on to share further details of exactly how the new tyre surpasses its predecessor. To improve steering stability, a new "Matrix Body Ply Structure" was developed employing technology fostered through participation in world motorsports. According to the company, weight was reduced while rigidity was maintained, producing more agile handling and more comfortable ride, although this upgrade is not available on all sizes in the range. Meanwhile the asymmetrical, non-directional tread pattern – inside for enhanced performance on wet surfaces, outside for dry – features a new compound created to provide “exceptional” grip.
Three decades after Japanese tyre manufacturer Yokohama began supplying tyres to the Macau Grand Prix, the company returned to the glitz and glamour of what is the Chinese equivalent of Las Vegas to celebrate 30 years of partnership with the event. In order to mark the occasion, Tyres & Accessories was there to smell the rubber and witness the racing action as well as report on the race-to-road developments of the tyre supplier (see separate article in December's magazine for more on this).
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