WRC
Carlisle-based tyre brand Dmack has secured an investment of £3.5m from private equity managers Maven. The injection of funds will help to fund the next stage of its growth, according to Dmack, boosting its production capacity and range of road-going and motorsport tyres.
Last weekend, Pirelli made its return to the World Rally Championship after a long absence. The tyre maker was sole WRC tyre supplier between 2008 and 2010 but left the series when it was opened up to multiple tyre suppliers for the 2011 season. It also supplied the WRC Academy until 2012. Its focus this year is privateer competitors, and Pirelli is offering these drivers an entirely-new range of rally tyres.
Pirelli has launched its new range of four rally tyres ahead of its reintroduction to the World Rally Championship. Exhibited at Autosport International, the Italian manufacturer has designed a new RK in size 235/40R18 with hard and soft compound options and Sottozero studded and studless models for Monte Carlo in size 235/40R18 for asphalt; a […]
At next week’s Autosport International, Pirelli will showcase its new range of FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) tyres ahead of the tyre maker’s return to world rallying. Pirelli will also bring four cars to the show including a McLaren MP4 12C, McLaren’s road-going car which exclusively uses Pirelli tyres as original equipment. Also on display will be a Pirelli-equipped McLaren GT3 to represent the Dutch Supercar Challenge, as well as a Ferrari 458 used in the Ferrari Open and GT Cup Championships – both of which use Pirelli as the championship control tyre supplier. Finally, a Pirelli-equipped Skoda Fabia S2000 that was used to win this year’s European Rally Championship will be on display to mark Pirelli’s return to WRC.
Dmack is to augment its continued role as authorised tyre supplier to the FIA World Rally Championship with a two car team in the WRC2 series. The British brand, manufactured in China by Shandong Yongtai, has announced the signing of Estonia’s Ott Tänak, who will join Finn Jari Ketomaa in a pair of Ford Fiesta R5 rally cars as the newly-formed Drive Dmack world rally team starts its campaign. Dmack has also announced a new range of rally tyres, as well as an extension of 60 sizes to its PCR range, coming in 2014.
Dmack is hoping to help four Ford Fiesta R5 drivers challenge for WRC2 honours at the revived Wales Rally GB round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Jari Ketomaa used the DMG+2 gravel tyre at Rally Finland in August to drive to victory, and he will challenge again when the championship kicks off on Thursday in North Wales. Norwegian Eyvind Brynildsen will join him, driving a pair of Autotek-run Fiesta R5s in Dmack livery. Two local British drivers will also use Dmack in attempting to make home advantage count in the north and mid-Wales forests.
Pirelli has crowned British Rally Championship 2 winner Daniel McKenna its UK Star Driver honour ahead of five other finalists. During the two-day shootout at the Sweet Lamb motorsport complex in Wales, McKenna impressed a panel of five judges the most, winning a full, seven-round British Rally Championship campaign courtesy of the series’ tyre supplier. McKenna, from County Monaghan, will compete in a Citroen DS3 R3 supplied by DGM Motorsport.
Battling some of the trickiest conditions experienced so far in this season’s FIA World Rally Championship, Dmack has hailed a “successful” Rallye de France after one of its runners achieved a WRC2 Production Cup podium finish. The brand’s DMT-RC asphalt tyre came through the tough rally after delivering the grip and traction needed for its runners to safely make it to the finish of the treacherous event.
World Rally Championship tyre supplier Dmack pronounced itself pleased by the performance of its new S3 version of the DMT-RC asphalt race tyre, introduced on the challenging Rallye Deutschland. The German round of the FIA championship has three distinct asphalt surfaces, which allowed Dmack to supply the DMT-RC for the first time since the mixed winter conditions at Rallye Monte Carlo in January. Dick Cormack, Dmack motorsport director, said: “It’s important that we constantly progress.”
Previewing the coming German round of the FIA World Rally Championship, tyre supplier Dmack has revealed the ways in which it views the all-asphalt event as another tough challenge. The first full asphalt event of the season attracts fans from across Europe, Dmack is looking forward to testing its tyres on Germany’s demanding special stages as it aims to follow WRC2 victory at Rally Finland. Dick Cormack, Dmack motorsport director, said: “We are hoping to follow the success in Finland on gravel with another solid result on asphalt.
WRC competitors will be able to select tyres from an additional manufacturer in 2014 after Pirelli registered as an official supplier to the Championship. The FIA confirmed on 1 August that the Italian manufacturer will join existing suppliers Michelin, Dmack and Hankook, who continues to supply tyres to Junior WRC.
China’s Shandong Yongtai Chemical Group, manufacturer of the Durun tyre brand and the DMack tyres used in the World Rally Championship, and UK tyre wholesaler Treadsetters have jointly acquired automotive supplier Covpress. The two companies are believed to have paid £30 million to buy the Coventry-based firm, which employs around 450 people and manufactures body panels for vehicle manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Renault. Chinese and UK media sources report Shandong Yongtai will hold a 70 per cent stake in Covpress and TIA Group company Treadsetters the remaining 30 per cent.
Tyre supplier to the FIA World Rally Championship Dmack has been chosen as the first fitment to three of the five new Ford Fiesta R5s built by M-Sport debuting on the Neste Oil Rally Finland next month. Local driver Jari Ketomaa and Norwegian Eyvind Brynildsen in Autotek-run Fiesta R5s wrapped in Dmack 2013 livery, and Robert Barrable from Dublin, Ireland in his CA1 Sport Fiesta plan to line up at the start of the event in Jyvaskyla with Dmack’s DMG+2 gravel tyre. Dmack, a brand manufactured in China by Shandong Yongtai and developed over the past few years in tandem with Carlisle-based Dick Cormack, faces stiff competition from the other WRC tyre supplier, Michelin. Dmack launched a range of passenger car and commercial vehicle tyres through a number of global distribution partners in 2012.
This year, Hankook takes over from Pirelli as sole supplier of the newly-renamed Junior WRC Championship. The Korean manufacturer will provide the series – which used to be known as the WRC Academy – with tyres from its Ventus range. The Ventus Z range will be used for tarmac rallies and the Venus R during gravel events. Both tyres have tread patterns specifically designed for use on front-wheel-drive cars such as the Ford Fiesta R2, the car all entrants in the 2013 FIA Junior WRC Championship will drive. Detailed tyre specifications and the number of tyres to be provided to competitors will be announced prior to each championship round.
Michelin has begun its three-year commitment to the Dakar Rally as it means to go on, with its tyres fitted to victors in the Bike, Truck and – on the tyre manufacturer’s comeback to the category for the first time since its 2001 victory – Cars. The French tyre giant brought its Latitude C tyres for the Car class, the Bib Mousse-equipped Desert Race for Motorbikes, and the XZL for Trucks, showing the strength and versatility required for competitors to tackle the frequently punishing conditions encountered.
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