Three drivers from the 2016 Drive Dmack Fiesta Trophy will tackle at least two rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship WRC 2 series this year. The one-make Dmack championship has offered prize drives for three years – what Dmack says is the biggest prize in world rallying. The brand adds that the Trophy has “effectively become the Junior WRC for 2017”.
Dmack wants to build on 30 fastest stage times set on gravel in 2016 at the first loose-surface event of the new FIA World Rally Championship season. The new, more-powerful 2017 world rally cars have seen tyre manufacturers upgrade products to offer greater durability and performance. At the Rally Guanajuato Mexico Dmack will offer completely new tyre specifications with enhanced compounds and construction.
Fast Parts Wales, a leading automotive motor factor in Wales, has revealed its plans to raise more than £30,000 through its Fast Parts Grand Rainbow Tour for Welsh children’s hospice, Ty Hafan, as part of the company’s 30th anniversary celebrations. Taking place on from Saturday 29 April to Monday 1 May 2017, all are welcome to participate in the family-orientated event and will have a budget of £300 to purchase a car and paint it in rainbow colours, being as creative as possible.
Dmack has launched its latest tyre for the FIA World Rally Championship on the second round of the 2017 series, Rally Sweden. The new studded winter tyre delivered competitive times on one of the most specialist events for tyre manufacturers. The Carlisle-based brand said the tyre has built on “both success and technical information gathered from previous seasons” in producing the DMG-ICE2 tyre. The Dmack crew of Welshman Elfyn Evans and co-driver Daniel Barritt finished sixth, equalling their best finish in Sweden.
Cooper Tire Europe will support its ambassador Xavier Foj, supplying Discoverer STT Pro tyres to Foj Motorsport for his 27th Dakar Rally. The Foj Motorsport Cooper Tire team has completed a series of rigorous test sessions in the run up to what is considered the toughest endurance event in global motorsport, taking place on 2-14 January 2017 in Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia.
With its tyres used by competitors in more than 26 motorsport championships in the UK alone, Yokohama continued its support in 2016 for young drivers across the three main motorsport disciplines; circuit racing, rallying and rallycross.
Dmack British Rally Champion Elfyn Evans rounded off his spectacular season in style with overall victory at this weekend’s popular Bettega Memorial Rally at the Bologna Motor Show in Italy. Evans beat Kalle Rovanpera (Ford, running on Pirelli tyres) after fending off competition from World Rally Championship runner-up Thierry Neuville (Hyundai, Michelin) and Alessandro Bettega (Ford, Yokohama) in two days of qualifying heats on the purpose built track. Dmack managing director Dick Cormack said the win was “an important result” for Dmack in growing the brand in Italy.
World Rally Championship tyre supplier Dmack has continued to build on its performance in previous seasons. Speaking to Tyres & Accessories, the brand said improved results during the 2016 season have been achieved as a result of investment in the technical team and its partnership with the Avon Motorsport arm of Cooper Tire. Following the introduction of a new range of gravel motorsport tyres in May, Dmack registered fastest times on every event, led three rallies outright and notched up two podium results, finishing second only to Michelin-shod cars. Dmack says its ability to challenge for victory in the global series is the result of new technical staff and the joint effort with Avon.
The launch of a new app from Pirelli aims to give rally competitors greater control over the management of their tyres. The Pirelli Competizioni app bears the name of the tyre maker’s sporting arm and is available in English and Italian and iOS and Android versions. Pirelli claims it to be the “very first app to be designed specifically for rally competitors.”
Automotive parts distributor, Fast Parts Wales, has announced the date of its second ‘Fast Parts Wales, Tŷ Hafan, Rainbow Family Rally’ in aid of local children’s hospice Tŷ Hafan, with the event set to take place from Saturday 29 April to Monday 1 May 2017.
Kumho’s continued participation in national rally championships has been rewarded with another success, as Bob Fowden and Paul Wakely’s Subaru Impreza WRC clinched the 2016 JD Tyres Welsh National Tarmacadam Rally Championship with one round to spare. The pairing won the Peter Lloyd Stages event on 23 October at the Pembrey Motorsports Centre, and was fastest over all five stages of the rally, which was held in sunny but windy conditions.
Dorothy Caldwell, who lives in Flagstaff, New Zealand, and is the Guinness World Record holder as the world’s oldest active rally navigator, is to take to the roads again in the New Zealand Haka Classic Rally, a 5,354 kilometre classic car competition on the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The rally starts in Auckland on October 30th and heads to Wanaka before coming back to Auckland again, ending on 25th November. 98-year old Dorothy will be navigating for her son, Alastair Caldwell in his 1963 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III. The same team and car took part in the TransAm rally from New York to Alaska four years ago and Dorothy won the “Spirit of the Rally” award and her team came 5th overall.
Dmack said it would target another top gravel result on its home round of the FIA World Rally Championship next weekend at the penultimate event of the season, Wales Rally GB. The 2016 UK round of the WRC could be one of the toughest in recent history, Dmack states, with new stages, significantly extended competitive sections and lack of mid-leg servicing making it a huge challenge for drivers and tyres alike. Since the supplier introduced a new range of gravel tyres in May, Dmack World Rally Team’s Ott Tänak and Raigo Mõlder have scored 16 fastest stage times and led events in Poland and Finland in their Ford Fiesta RS WRC.
Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss have won the Drive Dmack Fiesta Trophy following a thrilling final round in Spain. The Welsh pairing narrowly held off a gutsy late challenge from Max Vatanen. The championship was, for the third time in as many years, in the balance until the very last stage of the season finale. The trophy, sponsored by tyre brand Dmack, aims to provide a training ground for budding world rally stars.
Dmack’s dominant one-two victory on Rally Isle of Man, the final round of the MSA British Rally Championship, gave the team a victory lap, having clinched the championship title on the previous event. Elfyn Evans and Craig Parry rounded off their season with their fifth victory from seven rallies, finishing only 5.9 seconds ahead of team-mates Mark Higgins and Darren Garrod. Both crews took wins on 16 of the event’s 20 special stages. The double podium ensured the BRC Teams’ Championship trophy for the Dmack team, while Dmack runners also won the overall, BRC1, BRC2 and Junior BRC classes. The Michelin shod team of Tom Cave and James Morgan, and Pirelli runners Jonathan Greer and Kirsty Riddick finished on the championship’s second and third podium steps respectively.
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.