Pirelli’s Scorpion Graces Australia in WRC Round
Rally Australia is back on a new route after two years of absence from the WRC calendar, and it looks like being one of the most interesting events of the 2009 Championship.
Rally Australia is back on a new route after two years of absence from the WRC calendar, and it looks like being one of the most interesting events of the 2009 Championship.
Norwegian rally ace Andreas Mikkelsen has completed a successful test in the Hankook Opel Corsa ahead of the Barum Czech Rally Zlin, to be held later this month. The 20 year old headed to the UK for his first taste of the Hankook-liveried car that is contesting selected rallies this year ahead of a full assault on the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in 2010.
Bike builder Dave Cook has seen his Avon shod ‘Rambler’ crowned as this year’s World Champion machine. The 2009 AMD World Championship Of Bike Building took place recently in Sturgis, South Dakota, and it was Cook’s amazing machine – fitted with Avon’s Cobra tyres – which took top honours. Cook’s creation beat 82 other motorcycles to take top honours.
Federal Tyres will show off its new trade show booth at the upcoming 2009 Moscow International Motor Show (MIMS). The 13ths edition of the MIMS will be held at the Crocus Exhibition Centre on outskirts of Moscow from Aug 26-30. During the show, Federal will be featuring competition tyres FZ101 and FZ202, its gravel rally […]
Bridgestone backed drivers Bruce Garland and Harry Suzuki have raced to respectable result in the 2009 Australasian Safari, securing third place overall after 3,500 gruelling kilometres through Western Australia’s outback. Garland and Suzuki, who also have an 11th outright to their credit in this year's Dakar Rally, drove their Isuzu D-MAX to a top three slot after a successful appeal against a two-hour time penalty.
Pirelli is to continue as the Official Control Tyre Supplier to the MSA British Rally Championship for a further three years. Dominic Sandivasci, managing director of Pirelli Tyres Ltd said: “I’m delighted that we have been able to continue our long term relationship with the British Rally Championship. This is good news for Teams and Competitors alike, as it provides stability and a foundation which will allow the Championship to continue to flourish. Pirelli is committed to developing young talent with a view to driving the sport forward and our new agreement allows us to continue to do this within the BRC.”
Lassa was established in 1974 by the Sabanci Group, of one Turkey’s leading industrial conglomerates. In 1988 it significantly increased its capacity and product by becoming joint venture partners with the Bridgestone Corporation. This partnership forms the award-winning BRISA Corporation, enabling the Lassa brand to be supported by enormous resources and investment which, facilitates the production of a quality range of Lassa brand tyres.
Now one of Europe’s largest tyre producers, its integrated plant in Kentsa, Turkey covers over two million square metres and is equipped with state-of-the-art design and production technology and a revolutionary dedicated research and development centre. Customers are offered tyre products of superior quality sustained by outstanding service. BRISA supply Lassa tyres in over 50 countries worldwide through distributors who are specially selected for their location, logistics and experience. An extensive range of passenger tyres, high performance and winter ranges are manufactured, along with 4×4, rally, van and light truck, OTR and agricultural tyres.
Following a Rally Poland with large measures of success and frustration, young British World Rally Championship driver Tom Cave reserved special praise for his tyre supplier Yokohama, which uniquely provides the rubber for his Ford Fiesta: “The Yokohama tyres worked extremely well for us this weekend. We used the 195 section tyres and the outright grip was exactly what we needed. The tyres were also incredibly consistent and stood up to the conditions exceptionally well. We had no damage or puncture issues at all and they were very hard wearing as well as performing brilliantly.”
The 17 year-old from Aberdovey won 13 of the 15 stages he contested in his class (Group N3, up to 2000cc), but was denied the class victory when the cylinder head gasket on his Ford Fiesta rally car failed on Saturday, meaning he had to retire from the second day and incur time penalties before rejoining and finishing the event on Sunday. Though disappointed with the result, Cave expressed his delighted with the pace that he, co-driver Craig Parry, the team and the Yokohama tyres had demonstrated over the weekend. Commenting after the finish, he said; “While I’m obviously extremely disappointed that we didn’t get the result we hoped for up until the problem with the engine, we can definitely take a lot of positives from this event. Fastest stage time in class with the exception of one proper stage shows that our notes were working very well and the car was perfect, except for the engine problem. I think this was the weekend where everything seemed to come together – at the beginning and the end, at any rate!”
In the first week of June, Michelin held the dealer launch of its latest 4×4 tyre, the multi-purpose Latitude Cross – a tyre designed for 65 per cent road and 35 per cent off-road use. Over the course of the week, 90 dealers from around the UK and Ireland attended the event which was based at Ansty Hall Hotel near Coventry. Each day started with a presentation on where the new tyre fits into Michelin’s existing Latitude 4×4 range. After that, the dealers were given the chance to experience the new product themselves. A Land Rover Defender 110 and two Freelanders, two Toyota Hi-Lux pick-ups and two Volkswagen Touaregs were utilised to show the full range of the tyre’s on and off-road capabilities.
The UK distributor for Yokohama tyres, Yokohama HPT, will be heading south to Portugal next month, as it supports RX Racing when the buggies form part of the first regional final towards this year’s Race of Champions. With the 2009 Race of Champions moving to the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, home of last year’s Olympics, the organisers of the event have responded to demand from numerous countries to join the Nation’s Cup by creating the first regional final. The event, to be held in the Estadio do Dragao in Porto, the home of FC Porto, will see teams from Portugal, Spain, Italy and Monaco fight for a place in the ROC.
The format for the first final will follow a similar one to the ROC, with teams of drivers from every discipline of motorsport competing on a tarmac course laid out in the stadium. Saturday will see Portuguese drivers going head-to-head for a place alongside local Production car World Rally Championship leader Armindo Araujo to form the four-strong team for Sunday’s competition.
Hankook is stepping up its rally activities with plans to contest five rounds of the IRC this year ahead of a full championship assault in 2010. Hankook has joined forces with MSD to run the Opel Corsa OPC Super 2000 on five rounds of the IRC starting with Belgium Ypres Rally in June before tackling rounds in the Czech Republic, Spain, San Remo and Scotland.
Driving the Opel Corsa will be 33 year old Alex Bengue who has already tested the car with Hankook tyres. Bengue will also be supported this year by French oil company Yacco which has been a long term supporter of Bengue in France and at WRC level.
Pirelli has reported a “difficult” yet problem-less three days at the all-gravel Rally d’Italia-Sardegna, the tyre-manufacturer’s home event. Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala put the brakes on Sebastien Loeb’s domination of the 2009 World Rally Championship season to claim his first win of the year, while the five Pirelli Star Drivers took part in their second round of the six they will face in total, continuing their development in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X Group N cars. On an event that gave all six youngsters some extremely valuable experience of rough gravel, up-and-coming Finn Jarkko Nikara emerged best-placed of the Pirelli Star Drivers. Pirelli’s Rally Manager Mario Isola said, “These very rough conditions also taught our five Star Drivers how to blend consistency with their obvious speed, which will serve them well in the future.”
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is arguably the world’s best-known hill climb event, and in 2009 Yokohama Rubber is fielding an electric vehicle in the event. The company’s Team Geolandar off-road racing team will race to the 4,301-metre summit on July 19 in a self-created vehicle equipped with Geolandar H/T-S tyres.
The Japanese manufacturer refers to the Colorado, USA based event as the “Yokohama Team Geolandar EV Off-Road Challenge,” and states its aim in participating is to contribute towards meeting its environmental responsibilities. In this instance Yokohama wishes to promote awareness of the current and future potential of electric vehicles and gain real world experience to help it develop electric vehicle tyres suitable for use in severe off-road conditions.
After battling it out in the Argentine Sierras, the World Rally Championship is back in Europe and drivers are getting ready to hit the tough gravel roads of Sardinia. The Rally d’Italia Sardegna, the sixth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, is also another challenge for Pirelli Scorpion tyres – which, for this rally, come with a hard compound and, as usual, cannot be hand-cut.
This is the sixth year in which the Italian rally has been held in Sardinia and it will again be based in Olbia, although special stages will bring the teams to the southern end of the island where they will have to face challenging and mostly fast terrain, in places narrow and winding with a sandy surface concealing a hard base: all this will make the second passage even harder and the Pirelli Scorpion tyres will be put to the test together with the skill and precision of the drivers.
Continuing Tyres & Accessories recent coverage on the potential impact of the forthcoming s-marking laws, T&A asks what specific impact the rules will have on the vintage tyre market. From 1 October tyres covered by regulation 2001/43 will have to have an “S” stamped on the sidewall at the end of its 7-digit certification code – and those that don’t will be illegal.
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.