Hankook Team Farnbacher drivers Pierre Kaffer – this year’s class winner at the Le Mans 24 Hours – and Allan Simonsen in the GT2 class will be on the starting line for the 1000 kilometre race of the Le Mans Series, which is to be held at the Nürburgring on August 23. The Team will be driving a Ferrari F430 GT fitted with Hankook Ventus racing tyres.
Bridgestone’s super soft tyre proved to be the fastest rubber on the Nurburgring circuit for the first day of the German Grand Prix. In variable weather conditions, Lewis Hamilton set the day’s fastest lap time, a 1min 32.149secs, in his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes during the afternoon practice session. Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing) was the fastest driver in the morning practice session, using the medium compound to set a time of 1min 33.082secs. Conditions were cold and there was some rain today meaning that Bridgestone’s intermediate and wet tyres were seen out on track.
Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of motorsport tyre development said that “maintaining tyre temperature was a challenge.” He also praised the circuit and suggested that the weekend could be dominated by tyre talk: “It’s an interesting circuit here and, as illustrated today, there is always the factor of the weather too. After the British Grand Prix there was a lot of talk of tyre temperatures and how the front running teams and drivers use their tyres. I would not be surprised if that is also a topic this weekend. If it stays cold like today then the super soft could even be the preferred race tyre. For the medium compound, getting temperature into the tyre is the challenge, for the super soft, minimising graining is the challenge.”
Pirelli tyres are to support Aston Martin in their Nürburgring 24 hour race on the weekend of 23 and 24 May 2009. Pirelli have worked closely with Aston Martin for many years developing and supplying tyres for the DBS, V8 Vantage and in this case on the V12 Vantage. The P Zero Corsa System tyres used on the V12 Vantage road car are derived from the P Zero Corsa race tyres and ensure consistency and provide a tangible performance link between the two.
According to Pirelli, the P Zero Corsa is the ultimate sports version of the P Zero family. It is a highly technical tyre using directional and asymmetric tread patterns to enhance vehicle performance. The fitments on the V12 Vantage race car are 295/645 18 and 305/645 18.
The first batch of European spec Nissan GT-Rs have arrived in the UK, and the specification list for the Japanese sport coupe is very impressive indeed. In its European guise the GT-R has had its 588 Nm-rated 3.8 litre V6 twin-turbo engine tweaked to deliver 485 horsepower, and this is complemented by a paddle shift six-speed dual clutch transmission and all wheel drive. Despite a top speed of 193 mph, however, the Nissan is not just about performance – every GT-R is delivered with Bluetooth connectivity, touch screen satellite navigation, climate control, leather trim and Bose sound system.
Ferrari has committed to using Dunlop tyres once again to defend its title in the Le Mans Endurance Series GT2. The Italian car giant will be attempting to win a third successive championship title this year, with the Dunlop-shod Ferrari F430 being prepared by Team JMW for the new season. The car will hit the track for the first time in a pre-season test programme in Estoril, Portugal in February.
The team’s driver line up will be headed by 2007 and 2008 Le Mans Series Champion Rob Bell. The British driver has been a major factor in the growing strength of the Ferrari–Dunlop partnership during the past two seasons, and will once again be working closely with the team and Dunlop to develop the latest technology tyres to suit the F430 GT2. Rob’s co-drivers will be announced shortly.
The official lap record on the legendary 20,793 km Nordschliefe is now four seconds lighter following the exploits of German racer Jürgen Alzen and his Hankook tyres-shod Alzen-Porsche Turbo at 2008’s Circuit-Racing Challenge Nürburgring. Clocking in at 7-dead in the “Green Hell” came the team-owner and driving engineer of the Hankook H&R-Spezialfedern team, Alzen, whose brother Uwe held the previous record of 7:04 for five years.
“I am very proud of this record, as it clearly reflects the power as well as the future potential of our total package,” exclaimed a very satisfied Alzen after crossing the finish line. “Special praise also goes to Hankook Tire who once again managed to do a sensational job. The degree of grip, stability and driving performance that working with Hankook for the past two years has brought about is simply sensational. Hankook tyres always fit as if they were tailor made for every single lap.”
The sportiest version of Renault’s Mégane yet manufactured, the Mégane Renaultsport R26.R, is to feature Toyo tyres as an OE option. The performance hatchback, which had its public debut at the British International Motor Show, will be made available from October in a limited edition restricted to just 450 vehicles, and each will be fitted with Toyo Proxes R88 tyres. The tyres are an option on the Mégane R26.R in conjunction with a roll cage for those who want to use the car on track, replacing the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tyres in size 225/40R18 otherwise supplied with the car. As the car is a lightweight circuit special with a notable performance to price ratio, the roll cage and track tyre combination is anticipated to be a popular option.
Falken Tyres recently invited UK tyre retailers to Germany’s legendary motor racing circuit, the Nürburgring, for a weekend of motorsport. Micheldever Tyres, the UK’s exclusive distributer of the Japanese manufacturer’s products, were joined by dealers from across the UK as guests of Falken for the annual Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club’s 24-Hour race.
As one of the fastest-growing brands within Europe, Falken have made their presence felt in the UK especially with the release of the Assymetric 912 range. During the weekend, retailers commented on the exceptionally high customer satisfaction gained from buyers of the 912 Supertyre. Additional praise for Falken came from Micheldever’s Sales Director, Alan Baldwin: “Product quality is as expected of a top six world manufacturer…2008 has seen a significant increase in our Falken sales.”
Uniroyal claims a successful tradition of sport oriented rain tyre, and is confident its new RainSport 2 will follow in this vein. The new tyre builds on the established reputations of the RTT 1, RTT 2 and Rainsport 1 – products combining safety on wet roads with sporty driving performance. These features were suitably demonstrated when the tyres were used in the legendary 24 hour race on the northern loop of the Nürburgring, as well as when they were fitted as standard tyres in the Uniroyal Funcup, the racing series held right across Europe.
New structures in the base and sides of the grooves, together with their V-shaped profiles, enable water to be channelled even more quickly out of the contact patch, whilst the silica compound makes even higher deceleration values possible. The design of the tread ribs has also meant shorter braking distances on dry asphalt. A wear indicator on the tyre’s shoulder reveals faulty track alignment, thereby preventing reduced mileage.
Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. Has announced that its “Yokohama” and “Advan” brands have been adopted as corner names at Nurburgring, in Germany. The arrangement is for five years starting 1 January 2008, and running through 31 December 2012.
Bridgestone announced on November 22 that it will supply Potenza RE070R RFT run-flat tyres as OE on the latest Nissan GT-R, which made its global debut on October 24. The tyre major reports that a 255/40ZRF20 (97Y) size tyre will be fitted to the front axle of the high performance car as standard, and size 285/35ZRF20 (100Y) to the rear. The highly rigid structure of the Potenza RE070R RFT has been specifically tuned for the Nissan GT-R, commented Bridgestone upon announcing the deal, adding also that the tyre’s asymmetrical tread design would provide the GT-R with excellent handling in both wet and dry conditions.
At the end of the 2006 season, Italian tyre manufacturer Marangoni had good reason to break out the champagne for the third successive year with a second win in the Italian Hill Climb Championship, following previous success in 2004 and additional success in the European Hill Climb Championship of 2005. Champion Simone Faggioli totally dominated the series throughout the season, exclusively using Marangoni Zeta Linea racing tyres on his way to his fourth major Italian title in his Facetti-built Osella PA21S.
Mythos, the new Ultra High Performance tread pattern from Marangoni, has once again proved its performance attributes in a recent 24hr charity race for Telethon in Adria, Italy, with a wealth of high profile celebrity drivers. Mounted on all 26 participating race cars, Mythos performed at a consistently high level, confirming its outstanding sports performance and reliability under the most demanding conditions.
In January 2006, Falken High Performance Tyres will again be present when the doors open at the Aftermarket Show. At the Falken stand in the main hall visitors will be able to examine the new FK452 premium tyre, and the T110. Falken Tyres UK website will also be on show allowing visitors access to the dealer locator system, enabling them to find their local Falken supplier.
Another highlight will be the attendance of the Falken Girls who will be signing copies of their very own Falken Calendars and Posters. The stand will also include a race car simulator, featuring the Gran Turismo 4 computer game. From here visitors will be able to drive the Falken Nissan Skyline GT-R around the famous 20.8 kilometre long Nurburgring track.
Marangoni Tyre has launched a new tyre series aimed at the European ultra high performance market. The new Mythos range will combine “leading-edge technology” with “experience acquired in motor racing” to make a Y-rated road tyre, the Italian manufacturer explains. Marangoni even goes as far as describing the new tyre as the “jewel in its crown.”
Currently 30 per cent of the European replacement tyre market is made up of tyres approved for speeds of 240 km/h and higher. With this percentage expected to increase, Marangoni’s efforts to produce a UHP tyre are seen as a response to these developing market conditions. The manufacturer puts it another way: “This new product is the synthesis of the know-how and experience acquired by Marangoni over many years of research, races and tests in the most extreme conditions.”
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
