MOTORSPORT
During an interview with a Brazilian publication, Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery expressed his frustration at the lack of cooperation Formula One teams have provided the tyre maker. Hembery told TotalRace that the small operating window of this season’s tyres could have been avoided had the teams agreed to give Pirelli use of a current race vehicle for testing.
The vehicle to be used in next year’s Pirelli UK Star Driver scheme has been confirmed after the Italian tyre maker reached an agreement with Citroën Racing. Contenders in the 2013 Star Driver programme will put their skills to the test behind the wheel of a 1.6 litre, turbocharged Citroën DS3 R3.
Bridgestone Motorsport has held its inaugural Bridgestone Golf Performance Challenge at the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course, next to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where MotoGP’s Indianapolis Grand Prix takes place this weekend. Four golfing teams led by NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards, Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Andrea Dovizioso, CAME IodaRacing project’s Danilo Petrucci and James Ellison from Paul Bird Motorsport, all headed out to the driving range and then onto the course for a three-hole golfing contest.
Yokohama HPT has expanded the size ranges of its Mugello and Rivage wheels in the UK. Sized from 17-20”, both wheels are available in staggered fitments to suit a wide range of cars. The Mugello is suited particularly to those requiring wider rims at the rear and is available in Hyper Silver or Matt Black. The Rivage can be specified in either Hyper Silver or Gloss Black with milled edges to the spokes.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber shares that its role as official tyre supplier to the US-based World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series will end after the 2012 season. Announcing the decision on 14 August, GoodyearRacing marketing manager Justin Fantozzi said “for three years, Goodyear’s high quality tyres have helped to maintain the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series as the most exciting and competitive series on dirt. We wish the World of Outlaws continued success in the future.”
Bridgestone will supply its MotoGP tyres to teams in USA for the second of two consecutive races in the country. This weekend’s action is held at the revered Indianapolis Motor Speedway, whose distinctive layout places significant demands on Bridgestone’s rubber. The circuit comprises three distinct parts; the renowned oval which forms the main straight, the opening complex and turns seven and eight built specifically for MotoGP, and the rest of the infield which was constructed for when the circuit held Formula One races. Large sections of the circuit were resurfaced last year, resulting in more consistent grip levels, while some undulations on the tarmac that caused the bikes to behave erratically in corners were also removed. Bridgestone will supply special construction asymmetric rear slick tyres in the medium and hard compounds to manage the very high tyre temperatures expected around this circuit.
The victor in this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb conquered the 'Race To The Clouds' in record time – and this is good news for Hankook Tire, as the protagonist responsible for this feat was none other than Hankook-sponsored driver Rhys Millen. The New Zealander’s Hyundai Genesis Coupe – fitted with Ventus F200 racing slicks – reached the summit with an overall time of 9:46:164 to claim victory over a field of almost 200 cars and motorcyclists. Millen’s Hyundai is the same car that his professional racer father Rod Millen drove to a world record time in the Time Attack 2WD class at last year's running of the race.
The penultimate round of the MSA British Rally Championship will move to Northern Ireland this week for the second all-asphalt round of the series, the Todds Leap Rally Northern Ireland on 17-18 August. Pirelli will bring a mixture of 15” to 17” RX7, RX5 and RE7 asphalt tyres; the RX7 is a medium compound tyre for dry conditions, while the RE7 is for dry and damp conditions and can be used as a full wet. The N3 will also be available in one 15” size for wet conditions. The tyre supplier also boasts the involvement of its 2012 Pirelli Star Driver, Jukka Korhonen, who will travel from his native Finland where he was competing on Rally Finland, round eight of the World Rally Championship. Korhonen made his competitive debut on asphalt in May when he finished second in class on the Jim Clark International Rally at the wheel of a TEG prepared Skoda Fabia R2.
The Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race (MMER) is, according to the Straits Times newspaper, the biggest endurance race in Asia and the 13th MMER will take place between Aug 29-Sept 2.
Former Pirelli Star Driver Elfyn Evans claimed victory in last weekend’s Neste Oil Rally Finland, round three of the Pirelli-backed WRC Academy. Evans’ win marks the Briton’s second consecutive victory in this year’s series.
Last week Pirelli’s motorsport director again spoke out against the possibility of Formula One returning to a multiple tyre supplier championship. Paul Hembery commented to Autosport.com that a so-called tyre war would not make sense, as in his opinion it would make the racing less exciting and could adversely affect audience numbers.
Italian brake manufacturer Tarox launched its carbon ceramic ultra-high performance braking range earlier in the year, a product that draws on the company’s motorsport experience extending as far as Formula One. It continues to supply quality replacement products for models such as the Mk2 Ford Focus RS, and though the company supplies all car shapes and sizes, its managing director told Tyres & Accessories that it continues to pursue quality certification as a strategic necessity.
Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner claimed victory from behind as he rolled the dice on a softer rear tyre than his championship rivals at Laguna Seca. Approaching the race differently to his main championship rivals Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo and teammate Dani Pedrosa, Stoner trailed Lorenzo for most of the race, but having managed his tyres well he was able to exploit the extra rear grip on offer to pass Lorenzo down the main straight on the entry to turn one on lap twenty-two. While only six of the twenty-one riders on the grid selected the harder compound for the rear, the four riders between second and fifth all chose the medium compound Bridgestone tyre. Stoner remains in third position in the riders standings, though his fourth victory of the season means he narrows the gap to Lorenzo to thirty-two points and just nine to Pedrosa.
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton claimed a dominant victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, having been quickest during free practice and qualifying. Hamilton’s qualifying pace had allowed the driver to preserve a set of soft compound Pirelli P Zero Yellow tyres for racing on the Sunday; the McLaren built a lead in the first part of the race, before using the particularly narrow Hungaroring’s lack of overtaking opportunities to defend from the Lotus team in the rest of the race. Hamilton’s two-stop strategy was enough to claim victory by one second heading into the mid-season break. Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, leading the championship with great recent form finished fifth after qualifying sixth, thus increasing his lead of the drivers’ championship to 40 points, as his nearest rivals at Red Bull were only able to finish fourth (Sebastian Vettel) and eighth (Mark Webber). Nine races remain, with Alonso 40 points ahead of a chasing pack of four – Webber, Vettel, Hamilton and Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen.
Next year a new Sprint Series is set to replace the FIA GT1 World Championship, which is currently exclusively supplied by Pirelli along with the FIA GT3 European Championship. The new championship will be combined with the current Blancpain Endurance Series, with an overall title for both. The cars, calendars and tyre regulations will ensure that competitors can take part in both series, with a GT world title awarded to the overall winners. Pirelli reports it will supply tyres to the new championship next year on an exclusive basis.
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