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Pirelli F1 tyre “faultless” after Malaysian practice day turns up heat

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery says that the Formula One sole supplier’s tyres have “performed faultlessly” in the extreme heat of Malaysia’s Sepang circuit in the opening practice day for the second Grand Prix of the season. Track temperatures climbed to 51 degrees centigrade while the company measured an ambient temperature of 37 degrees. So far the soft tyres have been around 1.2 seconds per lap quicker than the hard compound, though Pirelli predicts they will run at that standard for between eight and 10 laps in the race. The soft tyres provided for Malaysia and China, characterised by yellow logos, have been given additional markings in order to distinguish them more clearly. A gold band has been drawn round the circumference of the tyre. Pirelli intends to revise the markings for greater visibility in time for the Turkish Grand Prix in May, when the Formula One season arrives in Europe.

8th April 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Automotive parts manufacturer Delphi sponsors WRC

Global automotive parts manufacturer Delphi has become the official Automotive Technology Partner of the World Rally Championship, the company has announced in a press release. The company believes that the sponsorship deal will reaffirm its commitment to motorsport, while presenting a “strong 360° communication platform” to promote its products and services to the aftermarket. It says the series will help showcase its products and service solutions and promote the capabilities of its expanding Delphi Service Centre network.

8th April 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama HPT talks four new UK wheels from TSW

The UK distributor for TSW replacement alloy wheels Yokohama HPT has announced that it has added four new styles to its 2011 UK range of wheels. Two of these wheels use TSW’s “Rotary Forging” manufacturing process to create wheels of higher strength than previous models but with lower weight. The technique involves introducing the molten metal to the mould under pressure, as the mould rotates at high speed. Because of the flow of metal, says Yokohama, the resulting wheel has higher inherent strength than a cast wheel while it can also be made with lower weight, assisting vehicles’ acceleration. Also, it helps to reduce the unsprung weight of the car, which in turn leads to more responsive suspension and hence, improved handling characteristics.

6th April 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper marks F3 diamond anniversary with diamond, crystal tyre

Cooper Tire has created a set of jewel-encrusted tyres to mark the diamond anniversary of Formula 3 racing in Britain, a series for which it is the current title sponsor. The tyres were made by London jeweller Freddie Keeble at FK Diamonds using both diamonds for the 60th anniversary and Swarovski crystals. They were unveiled at Silverstone during the launch of the 2011 Cooper Tires British F3 International Series, where they were bolted on to the race car of Carlin driver, Rupert Svendsen–Cook.

6th April 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Alcar Wheelwright combatting “40% collapse” in UK market with Calibre range

Alcar Wheelwright managing director Kevin Greer has reported a notable area of success in a UK wheel market battling hard against a medium-term slump, which looks set to continue in many segments. The wheel aftermarket is described by the Kent based importer as “difficult and depressed”, but the company is playing up the success of its recently expanded Calibre range, which it says has seen a significant level of interest from both the UK and increasingly mainland Europe. Alcar says the retro styles: Eclipse, Vice, Bomb and especially Vintage fill a gap in a European “look market” it describes as “hungry”.

31st March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Maxxis-sponsored British Motocross completes second round

The results in round two of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship at Canada Heights on 27 March turned out to be a repeat of the season opener, reports the brand and title-sponsor. Shaun Simpson (LS Honda) and Arnaud Tonus (Bike It Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha) took victory in the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively, while other Maxxis-sponsored teams also posted top ten finishes.

29th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone readies MotoGP compounds for “technical” Jerez circuit

The Jerez circuit is the next to grace the MotoGP calendar, as Bridgestone moves to Spain after the season-opener in Qatar. Located near the southern Spanish city of Jerez de la Frontera, the Grand Prix is a classic event on the MotoGP calendar with huge crowds making the most of the Spanish sun to support their national heroes. It is also, in the words of Hirohide Hamashima – director, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development – “a technical circuit with a mix of fast and slow corners. It is a good test circuit because of the diversity of the corner layout and this means that we require a tyre with a very balanced character to provide good handling from low speed to high and from flat corners to changes in elevation.”

29th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli reports ‘no issues’ with F1 tyres in Australia

“What a fantastic race” – these are the words of Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery following the Australian Grand Prix, the tyre maker’s first race under its three-year supply agreement. As Pirelli predicted, most runners made two to three pit stops – eleven of the 16 classified finishers, including race winner Sebastian Vettel, stopped twice, with five finishers stopping three times and one driver – 21-year-old rookie Sergio Perez – stopping only once en route to seventh place. The total race time was three minutes quicker than last year, a time saving that Pirelli says underlines the performance of its PZero tyres.

28th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Yokohama outlines 2011 motorsport activities

Motorsport is viewed by Yokohama Rubber as a “key aspect its efforts to develop its global tyre business,” and with this in mind the Japanese tyre maker says it will “strive to increase the degree of recognition of the Yokohama tyre brand through a wide range of motor sports activities in Japan and around the world.” On March 24 the company announced its global motorsport plans for 2011.

24th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli begins its F1 adventure

All the speculation and arguments surrounding the new Pirelli PZero Formula One tyre will be momentarily hushed as the action finally gets underway in Melbourne, with teams grappling with the novel conditions of a new tyre with completely different characteristics to the former Bridgestone Potenza model. After 33 days of testing (15 at official tests and 18 in private testing) this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix will give Formula One the chance to see how the new rubber will affect the way teams approach the race; debates around the tyres will begin once again after the race’s conclusion, but what is certain is that those drivers best equipped to deal with the different tyres will be those who prevail.

22nd March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Vipal sponsors European truck racing team

Having sponsored teams in several Brazilian motorsport categories, Brazil-based retreader Vipal has begun sponsorship of the Buggyra team in the 2011 European Truck Racing Championship. “Vipal and Car and Truck Racing have been shoulder in shoulder since the company´s foundation. For thirteen years we have sponsored the Formula Truck in Brazil, contributing to the success of the category in the country. Now, due to Vipal´s expansion in Europe, we have decided for this sponsorship. Furthermore, what’s even better is that we get started in this new phase together with the current champion of the category”, explains Maria Locatelli, Vipal sales and marketing director.

22nd March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Motor Club competition-winning Land Rover using Cooper tyres in domestic rally

A Land Rover Defender shod with standard 255/55R18 Cooper 4XS tyres has topped the Kirkby Lonsdale Motor Club drivers and co-drivers competition at the start of the UK’s domestic rally season. Mike Dawn and Jane Clarke, from Windermere, chose the biodiesel-powered 4×4 to compete in a series of national rally events during the 2011 season. In their first rally on the North West Stages, they completed 24 stages and 75 competitive miles of asphalt routes to finish 41st out of 105 competitors.

22nd March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone’s MotoGP season-opener dominated by Stoner

Bridgestone reports that Casey Stoner continued his strong pre-season form to take a clear victory today in Qatar for the Repsol Honda Team, using the harder option front and rear Bridgestone slicks – a choice common to all riders in the tough Qatari conditions – to finish over three seconds ahead of the field and set the fastest lap of the race. His teammate Dani Pedrosa fought Stoner hard for the first half of the 22 lap race, leading for much of it, while Yamaha Factory rider and 2010 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo rode a determined race from third on the grid, leading on the first lap to pass Pedrosa for second as the pair traded positions in the closing laps.

21st March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone extends MotoGP supply through to 2014

Bridgestone Corporation has confirmed its continuation as official tyre supplier to the premier class of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) MotoGP World Championship with the signing of a new three-year deal covering the 2012 to 2014 seasons. The Japanese tyre maker began supplying the premier class in 2009 and the new contract signed with Dorna Sports covers the provision of tyres and technical support to the grid at a time when the championship enters a new era of increased engine capacity, up from 800cc to 1000cc.

21st March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone previews Qatar MotoGP

Bridgestone is taking its medium and extra hard front and its medium and hard rear compounds to Qatar for the first MotoGP of the 2011 season. The Losail International Circuit again heralds a return to action on 20 March for motorcycle racing’s top category and for Bridgestone, which returns as the official tyre supplier to the premier class for the third year. The manufacturer says that following the Tohoku earthquake, it has pledged support for the relief and recovery of its home nation and to those affected by the events of last Friday, while “doing its best in this difficult situation to ensure that MotoGP tyre supply will be uninterrupted”.

17th March 2011/by Tyrepress Editors