Calling all keen motorcyclists: BEN – the automotive industry charity, has a very special event planned for you this summer. Between the 22nd and 25th June, riders will embark from the UK on a route through four countries to reach the second highest pass in the Alps – the Stelvio Pass in Italy.
The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship has launched its 2013 season at Donington Park with a full to capacity, record grid of 32 cars from 18 teams. 26 of these will be next generation touring car specification, while the remaining six S2000 cars will compete for the Jack Sears Trophy. The home broadcaster of the BTCC, ITV announced that its support would continue to at least 2017, with more than 230 hours of coverage planned for 2013 across ITV and ITV4, on which live coverage will be broadcast. Tyre supplier Dunlop introduced its tyre range for the championship, with the most notable change from the 2012 season being the introduction of a soft compound slick. Dunlop representatives told Tyrepress.com that the change in tyre regulations would help the brand “to converse about tyre characteristics”, giving a fillip to its overall marketing profile.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries high performance tyre brand Falken is to supply its ZIEX ZE912 tyre to two grass roots motorsport series in the northwest of England, after agreeing to a new sponsorship and support scheme. Drivers in the Association of North Western Car Clubs (ANWCC) K11 Micra Challenge and the Under 17 Motor AutoSOLO Championship for Standard Cars will have access to free and subsidised tyres to qualifying competitors and others involved with the championship respectively.
The Isle of Man TT, Post-TT races and Ulster GP and North West 200 are amongst the racing activities Metzeler has planned for its anniversary year. The tyre maker, which started in 1863 as a firm selling rubber and elastic goods in the German city of Munich, says it will hold a ‘Road Racing’ summer spectacular to mark its century and a half.
Toyo’s Proxes R888 will be the control tyre for the Toyo Tires BRSCC Porsche Championship. The partnership deal includes title sponsorship for the 2013 season, which will see Boxsters and classic 924s battling for supremacy on the UK’s finest circuits. Toyo says that the skills of the participating drivers will make for some close racing, and the emphasis will be placed on preparing talents for future motorsport series while keeping costs manageable.
So you’ve accumulated a decent amount of ‘friends’ on Facebook, but how many fans do you have? Nitto Tire U.S.A. has more – in fact, the brand has hit the 3 million fan mark. Half a million of these signed on within the last two months.
Acorn Infinity Motorsport has announced the signing of ex-Team Japspeed driver Stephen Biagioni, for the 2013 Maxxis British Drift Championship. The news follows details of the team’s plans to compete in all three classes in this year’s championship, doubling the number of cars competing to four; the man known as “Baggsy” finished fifth out of 33 competitors in the 2012 series’ Super Professional class, helping Japspeed claim the Team Championship. In 2013 he joins founding members Mark Lappage and Ian Waddington, and new academy driver in the Semi Professional class, Martyn Lowe in the expanded Acorn Infinity Motorsport team, which will look to improve on its fourth-place finish in 2012.
Infinity is increasing its involvement with the Acorn Motorsport team in the 2013 Maxxis British Drift Championship. Reflecting the company’s sponsorship and race tyre support, the team will compete in the 2013 championship under the new banner of Acorn Infinity Motorsports. AIM will run double the number of cars this season to four, challenging in all three classes – Semi Professional, Professional and Super Professional – with the goal of improving on last year’s fourth position in the constructor’s table.
A return to Australia’s V8 Supercars Championship awaits Bridgestone in 2013, with the tyre maker teaming up with Nissan Motorsport in a sponsorship deal that will see Bridgestone branding on the Jack Daniel's Racing Nissan Altimas of Todd and Rick Kelly. The arrangement begins in round one of this year’s series, which gets underway in Adelaide on 28 February. The Clipsal 500 event in Adelaide marks the return of Nissan to Australia's premier motorsport category after a 20-year hiatus, with Mercedes-Benz also joining the expanded series.
Under a three-year agreement, Kumho Tire will act as sponsor and official tyre supplier to the China Touring Car Championship (CTCC). The championship, which gets underway for the 2013 season at the Zhuhai International Circuit on 12 May, is supported by the FIA and the FASC (Federation of Automobile Sports of the People's Republic of China) and features premium level touring car racers. Races attract more than 10,000 spectators and the state-run broadcaster Chinese Central Television holds exclusive rights to the series.
Following the enormous success of last year's inaugural event, BEN has revealed details of the route for its 2013 motorcycle rally. Between the 22nd and 25th June, entrants will embark on a ride through four countries to reach the second highest road pass in the Alps and one of the most challenging routes in the world – the Stelvio Pass in Italy.
Italian tyre company Marangoni has signed a three-year joint title sponsorship agreement with the hugely popular BMW Compact Cup Championship. Now in its third year it has become one of the UK’s fastest growing championships, with over 50 cars expected in 2013. The race cars, all based on BMW E36 318Ti Compact, will feature significant Marangoni branding and will race on 195/50 R15 82V Marangoni Zeta Linea Sport tyres as well as the Zeta Linea road spec tyre. The new agreement brings with it a new name for the championship which from now on will be known as The Marangoni Tyres/GAZ Shocks BMW Compact Cup.
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations has supplied Firestone tyres to the IZOD IndyCar Series since the league began in 1996, and the tyre maker recently announced it will remain the series’ sole tyre supplier through the 2018 race season. “Firestone performance and safety have been synonymous with IndyCar racing for more than 100 years,” commented Al Speyer, executive director, Firestone Racing. “We are excited about the opportunity to continue the on going success of this series by extending the Firestone brand’s history in the sport through the 2018 season. We treasure the relationships we have fostered with the league, drivers, owners and various other partners involved with the sport through the years, and look forward to continuing our legacy of high performance for which Firestone tires are known.”
Eurotire sponsored the “TechGorMet-21 Century” Conference, which took place in St. Petersburg, Russia between 14-16 November 2012. The underlying theme for this conference was “New Technologies for Mineral Extraction and Processing Control”. Over 200 people from over 12 countries participated in this International Scientific and Practical Conference.
As of next year, the Bridgestone brand will be title sponsor of the Copa Libertadores, or Libertadores Cup. This annual international football competition, which is arguably the most prestigious club competition in South America, will thus be known as the Bridgestone Libertadores Cup through to 2017.
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