Known for its style, speed and performance marketing values, Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational company based in Milan, Italy, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, with a temporary privatization period by the consortium led by the Chinese state-owned enterprise ChemChina.
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.
Pirelli Tire North America has celebrated its 10th anniversary as a resident of Rome, Georgia, and although some of the company’s business operations have moved to New York in recent years, the facility still serves as the company’s manufacturing base, one of five global R&D centres and as headquarters for Pirelli’s NAFTA Region.
Pirelli has confirmed that it is investing a total of £20 million in its Carlisle tyre production factory. As Tyres & Accessories reported following a visit last month, the money is being invested in research and development as well as factory upgrades. According to company representatives, of the £20 million total, £11.4 million is being spent on research and development and £9 million on machinery upgrades.
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.
In response to marketplace concerns, Pirelli Tire North America has reassured its customers that the tyre maker doesn’t intend to cease production of 16.5-inch slick and rain motorcycle tyres. In a statement, the company’s Moto Road Racing manager Jeff Johnston said “Pirelli is committed to servicing the North America market now and in the future with 16.5-inch racing tyres. Our road racing distributors stock these slick and rain tyres in the latest constructions and compounds…as a worldwide leader in motorcycle road racing tyres sales and service, we maintain one of the broadest selections of performance products for both amateur and professional racing enthusiasts.”
Michelin’s newest tyres, the Energy Saver + passenger car tyre and the Agilis + light commercial vehicle tyre score good results on the European tyre label, with the former’s sample size achieving B in fuel efficiency and A in wet grip and the latter’s scoring CB (both with two sound waves at 70dBs if you’re really interested). But at the French manufacturer’s recent event in Stockholm, Sweden to mark the end of its Performance Tour 2012, Michelin representatives preferred to talk about the full range of characteristics developed for its latest tyres than to dwell on good labelling results. Marketing director, Gary Guthrie told Michelin’s guests that the “information contained on the tyre label is terrifically important, [but] it has never been [Michelin’s] philosophy” to focus on selected criteria.
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.
Grouptyre’s latest prize draw promotion, in conjunction with Pirelli, has been won by Tyre Technician Sean O’Connor from Southampton Audi, part of the Harwoods Group based along the South Coast. O’Connor and his chosen guest Lee enjoyed the weekend’s action on 7-8 July at the 2012 Formula One Santander British Grand Prix at Silverstone, with overnight accommodation close to the circuit, and full hospitality at the event.
Pirelli’s financials means that the Italian tyre manufacturer outperformed market expectations of its second quarter EBIT performance by 5 per cent, according to financial analysts. The firm also maintained its full-year financial guidance, Morgan Stanley wrote in an investors note reflecting on the figures:
Pirelli reports that the company closed the first half of 2012 with revenues of 3,021.8 million euros, an increase of 8.3 per cent compared with the 2,789.3 million euros published for the same period in 2011.
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.
Formula One’s stay in Hungary’s Hungaroring this weekend for the country’s Grand Prix has started as per previous weekends in the UK and Germany; with rain affecting free practice sessions. With the P Zero White medium tyre and P Zero Yellow soft tyres the nominated tyres, Pirelli saw the intermediate Cinturato Green tyres used more than had been hoped, though ambient temperatures of 29°C and 45°C track temperatures, the drivers used what dry running time they had on Friday to assess the performance and degradation levels on both tyres, using a variety of fuel loads. Pirelli says this information is more crucial than usual in Hungary, as it is very difficult to overtake on the tight and narrow track. There was also significant surface evolution on the underused circuit over the course of the day as more rubber was laid down.
West Yorkshire’s Bedfords Transport says it has been able to halve tyre-related breakdowns since adopting a new tyre policy with ATS Euromaster in December 2011. The company signed a new deal with its existing tyre service provider to fit Pirelli new and remould tyres across its fleet of 84 trucks and 135 trailers. During the first seven months of the contract, Bedfords Transport has recorded an average of 3.4 roadside tyre failures per month, compared to 6.4 per month during the previous year. The company credits a “closer working relationship” with ATS-E for the significant impact on operational uptime the new deal has made.
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