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New Bridgestone Tyres on Show at F1 Valencia Test

Tetsuro Kobayashi, technical manager at Bridgestone Motorsport was an engaged spectator at Formula One’s pre-season Valencia testing session, with the company’s newly-developed narrower front tyre appearing for the first time on track. It will have been a relief for him to report that “so far… our tyre performance is in line with our expectations.” If this sounds a little elusive, perhaps it is because Kobayashi is waiting for more information before the next tests, both to take place on the South coast of Spain at Jerez. “First of all, we are pleased to have seen the good potential of the 2010 specifications,” he continued, “even though it’s a little difficult to judge fully the true performance because of the special characteristics of the Valencia circuit.”

5th February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Federal ‘Corners’ the Market

Following the success of the programme it introduced early in 2008, Federal Tire has further developed its marketing plan for tyre dealers. In order to strengthen its market position, the company has released an “image corner” – a move it hopes will help consumers gain a better understanding of Federal. The company says it aims, through the introduction of these displays in its export markets, to create a presence that “established the essence of the Federal brand” and helps the company sustain a competitive edge while improving business.

4th February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Klarius Buys Quinton Hazell

On the 2 February 2010, automotive aftermarket manufacturing and distribution business Klarius completed the purchase of the Quinton Hazell automotive group (QH) from US-based Affinia. Quinton Hazell is headquartered in Leicester, England, with strong manufacturing and distribution assets in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The purchase brings a wide range of well known automotive aftermarket and OEM brands together, combining extensive manufacturing resources from both companies with global sales and distribution networks, boosting the group’s annual turnover to over £350 million. According to Klarius, further acquisitions, which should the group’s turnover pass half a billion euros, are planned.

3rd February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Signs of Timid Recovery in European Car Tyre Market, Truck Market Depressed

ETRMA, the European tyre manufacturers association, has released market data detailing the stop-start nature of most European tyre markets in 2009. According to ETRMA, “the tyre industry has mixed feelings for the year 2009,” diplomatically summing up what was an atrocious year for some and a tough but stable slog for others.

The data shows that the contraction of passenger car tyre sales was smaller in 2009 than in 2008, however OE tyre sales recorded a -18 per cent decrease. The good news is that during the last quarter of 2009 a small but constant increase was reported for both markets.

1st February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Off-Road Tour Company Selects Cooper Discoverer STT tyres

All Terrain Tours, an off-road tour company (as the name suggests) has chosen Cooper’s Discoverer STT tyres for use in the Northern English countryside. Started earlier this year by Tony Newton and Mark Langley, All Terrain Tours allows owners of off-road vehicles to use them away from asphalt roads on legally accessible “green lanes”, with prices starting at around £45. Langley’s Land Rover Defender and Newton’s Land Rover Discovery will have the Cooper tyres fitted as they lead tours across some of England’s most remote and beautiful countryside. The company promotes safe and responsible use of four-wheel drive vehicles in the countryside, with routes available for most 4x4s.

1st February 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper-Supported Team Claims Second Place in 2010 Dakar Rally

The Toyota Cooper Tire team claimed second place in the T2 production car class at this year’s Dakar Rally. Dakar veteran driver Xavier Foj and co-driver Pablo Jaton overcame a faulty ECU unit; a day spent digging themselves out of the sand dunes; and an encounter with a massive rock in a river, which almost destroyed their car’s rear differential, to finish on the podium at the rally’s conclusion.

18th January 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Metzeler Wins Third Consecutive Indoor Enduro World Title

Metzeler has claimed its third consecutive World Indoor Enduro title with top riders Blazusiak and Cervantes heading the order on Metzeler 6 DAYS EXTREME enduro tyres. After just three rounds of competition, Metzeler rider Tadeusz Blazusiak (KTM) was proclaimed FIM Indoor Enduro World Cup Champion in Vigo, Spain after winning all three finals. According to the company, this form of exciting and fast action Enduro has attracted big names this season with top names including multi World Enduro and Trials champions such as Mika Ahola (Honda), Dougie Lampkin (Beta) and Ivan Cervantes (KTM).

14th January 2010/by Tyrepress Editors

Young Drivers Perform Last F1 Tyre Test of 2009 with Bridgestone Potenzas

Bridgestone Motorsport reports that motorsport’s finest up-and-coming drivers sampled its Potenza Formula One tyres in the final group test of 2009 at the Jerez racing circuit in southern Spain on 1-3 December. All four compounds of 2009 specification dry tyres were available and used at the test. Twenty drivers drove 2,602 laps over the course of the three days for the nine attending teams. Bridgestone’s intermediate and wet tyres were also used. The test was designed to gather data on the old tyres in preparation for their 2010 development, with teams all running different programmes and heavier cars to simulate extra fuel loads. Jun Matsuzaki, chief engineer at Bridgestone Motorsport stated: “It was good to see so many young drivers here at the same test, and there were more experienced F1 test drivers in action too, so we had a good benchmark. We could see some of these names again in the future and our current F1 drivers will always need to keep looking over their shoulders because of these youngsters.”

7th December 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Chooses CEVA as Logistics Partner in Turkey

Goodyear’s Turkish operation, Goodyear Lastikleri, has selected Ceva Logistics to handle its logistics requirements. Ceva Logistics will provide Full Truck Load (FTL) and Partial (LTL) distribution services from the tyre maker’s factories in Adapazari and Izmit, near Istanbul, to dealers and OEM customers throughout the country. All distribution process will be visible by Goodyear via a web based track and trace system.

26th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Seeking to Boost UK Motorcycle Motorsport at Grass Root Level in 2010

Michelin will look to “re-establish” its two-wheel motorsport involvement in the UK in 2010, with the manufacturer introducing The Michelin Power Cup having already achieved notable success in France, Italy and Spain with similar race series. The series offers motorcycle racers a welcome Power Pack valued at £700, plus unprecedented amounts of track time and prizes including cash and products. Commenting on the new series, Olivier Gros, head of Michelin’s UK motorcycle department says: “This is a very exciting opportunity for us to re-establish Michelin at the grass-roots of motorcycle racing in the UK. We want the Power Cup to stand out as offering the best value for money for racers both in terms of track time and prizes, and based on the calibre of sponsors we are confident that this will be the case.

17th November 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

FIA Elects Jean Todt as New President

World motorsport and motoring body the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (or FIA to its friends) has announced Jean Todt as its new president for a four-year term. The FIA General Assembly staged its annual meeting, at which voting was completed, in Paris last week. Todt scooped 135 votes, while the other candidate, Ari Vatanen managed 49. 12 abstained or produced invalid votes. Voting in the General Assembly was made by secret ballot. The votes were counted in private by the FIA legal department, under the supervision of scrutinisers proposed by the two presidential candidates and designated by the General Assembly. The entire voting procedure was supervised by an external Huissier de Justice (French state-appointed public witness).

26th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Best Choice Plans to Broaden Sunew Range

Taking pride of place on Best Choice International Trading’s stand at CITExpo was the current product range within the company’s “Sunew” own brand. The Beijing headquartered business now offers its “Sunew YS618” in 22 16 to 18-inch high performance sizes, and European region sales and export manager Stephen Wu reports that before the end of the year a further six 15-inch sizes will be added to the range – a line-up that, until recently, was marketed under the manufacturer’s “Yellow Sea” brand name. The coming year will see further additions to the Sunew portfolio; the range’s rim diameter ceiling will be pushed upwards with the addition of 19 and 20-inch products. Yet despite these plans to think big, Stephen Wu explains that the company is by no means turning its back on the smaller Sunew sizes. “They are under-represented in our range,” the manager explains. In the future, Best Choice also hopes to establish itself more firmly in France, Italy and Eastern Europe. At present the company is most strongly represented in the UK, Germany, the Benelux countries and Spain.

26th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Grouptyre/Pirelli promotion winners get close to rally action

“Brilliant, awesome, it was a trip you could never pay to organise for yourself,” was how Martin Thomas, owner of Halesworth Tyre and Exhaust in Halesworth, Suffolk, described a recent trip to the World Rally Championships. Thomas and his wife Lisa were VIP guests at the Rally of Spain (October 1-3) after winning the top prize in a national promotion organised by Grouptyre, the UK’s leading independent wholesaler, and premium tyre manufacturer Pirelli. The Grouptyre/Pirelli incentive ran from 1 May to 30 June. For every Pirelli car, van and 4×4 tyre that independent tyre retailers bought during the promotion period, they were credited with an entry into a draw, the top prize of which was the Spanish rally excursion.

22nd October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Passenger Car Registrations Up in September

European passenger car registrations in September received a boost from markets with government sponsored scrappage schemes in place, particular those countries where the schemes are winding up. The whole European market rose 6.6 per cent and the Western European by 9.6 per cent during the month compared with September 2008, the largest leap since 1999. In absolute figures, however, September 2009 registrations stayed below the levels reached since 2002.

16th October 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pneus Online Launches Fourth Generation e-Commerce Website

European online passenger car and motorcycle tyre provider, Pneus Online has launched the fourth version of its website (www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk). The company has sold tyres on the internet since 2001 and have used this experience to develop a new optimised platform so that each customer is able to order the desired tyre in a few clicks.

17th September 2009/by Tyrepress Editors