Page last updated at September 29, 2011 01:53:57 PM
BTCC attracting growing TV audience
Good news for the title sponsor and other supporters – official figures show the number of viewers tuning into watch the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – the BTCC to its friends – has grown an average of 43 per cent this year. The British Audience Research Board gained this statistic from an analysis of viewer activity during the first seven rounds of the current season versus the first seven rounds of 2010; this latest figure...
HiQ announces BTCC activities
While Dunlop may have taken the reigns as the title sponsor of the British Touring Car Championship, the franchise retail network HiQ, which was the series’ previous title sponsor, is continuing its presence as the Teams’ Championship sponsor by launching some new features. For the first time, HiQ will launch a YouTube channel, featuring footage from the paddock and the latest views from the leading lights of the track. Fans will also be able...
Record BTCC line-up awaits Dunlop in 2011
In 2011 Dunlop continues as title sponsor of the British Touring Car Championship and this year the tyre maker’s name is attached to a series being contested by more entries than ever; the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship has confirmed a record entry list ahead of its 2011 season with the highest number of different makes and vehicle models entered for the series in the two decades it has run as an all two-litre formula.
‘Stig’ Collins to Make BTCC Debut
Some say his work with the BBC has dried up of late, and that he’s no longer on Jeremy Clarkson’s Christmas card list – all we know, is that he’s called Ben Collins, and he’s about to make his BTCC debut. The man who gave substance to Top Gear’s tame racing driver The Stig prior to his recent ‘outing’ has decided to throw his helmet into the Dunlop British Touring Car Championship ring at Brands Hatch on October 10. This...
BTCC Stars to Feature at Goodwood’s Dunlop Live Arena
Dunlop is urging followers of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship to the Festival of Speed at Goodwood this coming weekend, where the company’s Live arena in the Goodwood Stable Yard will host some of the UK’s top touring car stars in a ‘Meet the Fans’ question and answer session. Croft winner Andrew Jordan, 2010 pacesetter Tom Chilton, multiple champion Matt Neal and race winner Mat Jackson are among the drivers who will talk...
Dunlop BTCC Hosts Motorsport Masterclass for Technicians
Cheshire’s Oulton Park was the latest venue for the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, hosting around 35,000 racing fans. Among those fans were more than 25 of the North West region’s top tyre experts, attending the Dunlop BTCC Masterclass; an exclusive course for technicians run by the same Senior Engineers that service the Dunlop tyres for BTCC stars such as Jason Plato and Matt Neal.
Start to BTCC Season ‘Fast and Furious’ - HiQ
The HiQ fast fit network says it expected a ‘fast and furious’ start to the British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton on April 4 - and it wasn’t disappointed. The former title sponsor, whose name is now attached to the Teams' Championship, notes that a great deal has already changed since last October’s race at Brands Hatch. However, one thing remained the same in ominous style - Fabrizio Giovanardi made a spectacular return to the...
23 Entries Confirmed for BTCC in 2010
On March 31, the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship officially confirmed that 23 cars are lined up to compete in the 2010 season. Despite the current economic climate, this is more than was announced at the start of 2009, and this year’s contingent includes a number of new teams, drivers, models of cars and big name sponsors. In total, seven different manufacturers, with nine different models, are represented on the grid, namely: BMW,...
Dunlop and Evo Return with “Motorsport X-Factor”
Dunlop’s activities in the MSA British Touring Car Championship are not limited to being the title sponsor and tyre-supplier. The company is engaged in the hunt to find the Championship’s future stars with its Race Academy – dubbed by the manufacturer “the X-Factor of Motorsport”. The Academy will run a series of track-based events in which drivers new to racing will be able to show what they can do on the track. Playing Simon Cowell and...
ITV Increases Dunlop British Touring Cars Coverage
ITV will increase its coverage of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship to over 120 hours this year. The Championship’s title sponsor this time around changes from HiQ to Dunlop, as Goodyear Dunlop continues to publicise the motorsport capabilities of the brand, which also supplies the BTCC. The move by ITV will therefore please Dunlop, which will be getting an increased opportunity for brand exposure direct to motorsport fans’...
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Market view: MTS/Southam on 4x4 tyres
Micheldever Tyre Services distributed in excess of 800,000 4x4 tyres in the UK tyre market in 2011, especially through its Southam division which has a history specialising in the 4x4 sector. According to the company, this makes Southam “probably... -
Nokian Rotiiva AT summer tyre for SUVs
Nokian has introduced its new Rotiiva AT (All Terrain) summer tyre for SUVs into its core European markets. The tyre, says Nokian is excellent on asphalt or gravel, but also performs well in lighter off-road conditions. The sturdy structure and... -
Delphi talks technology with Tyres & Accessories
At the start of 2012 Tyres & Accessories contacted leading automotive and aftermarket supplier Delphi with a view to getting this firm’s perspective on the increasingly important diagnostics side of the garage work. Paul Chaundy, service... -
CLAAS awards Mitas for innovations
In January Claas awarded tyre maker Mitas with the Claas Supplier of the Year Award 2011 for Innovation for Mitas’ CHO tyre. “Mitas won the award from among 900 serial part suppliers,” said Jens Steinhardt, Mitas’ key account manager. Bosch... -
Micheldever launches General Tire Eurovan 2
Micheldever/Southam Tyres has added the new General Eurovan 2 to the General Tire product range. This means the new van range covers 88 per cent of the UK van sector. According to the company, the new Eurovan 2 is optimised to European road conditions... -
Hankook donates tyres to African Charity Project
Hankook Tyre UK recently supplied 12 all-terrain Dynapro MT RT03 tyres which were fitted to two Land Rover Defenders in support of the Bhubesi Pride Project. The Bhubesi Pride Project is part of an initiative which involves a team of qualified... -
January motorcycle sales up 6.3%
The latest new motorcycle and scooter figures show sales overall were up 6.3 per cent compared with January 2011. Under 50cc scooter sales were up 1.3 per cent in January, while over 50cc motorcycle sales increased 7.4 per cent. -
Bandvulc Key Dealer Conference discusses plans for 2012
The Bandvulc Group recently held its annual BTC Key Service Partner Conference at its head office in Ivybridge, Devon, some four years since it was last been used as the venue. According to the company, the event was very well attended with the key... -
Heuver to market Aeolus passenger car tyres in Europe
In 2012 Aeolus Tyres will enter the European passenger car tyre market in partnership with Netherlands-based Heuver Tyrewholesale. Although Aeolus will be entering the passenger car market for the first time, the company reports that it was certainly... -
Infinity promotes 2012 marketing strategy
Infinity has announced plans to expand and customise its DNA campaign to fit the national markets where it operates. The company describes its new campaign as featuring “iconic monuments re-interpreted using an Infinity Tyre.” In addition Infinity...
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Michelin claims strategic validation in 2011 financial report
Michelin announced its full financial year report for 2011 today, its board claiming a vindication of its strategy in the process. The company produced “extraordinary results” according to chief financial officer Marc Henry, who presented the... -
Parts Alliance calls for support of automotive training
Automotive business group, The Parts Alliance used the event of National Apprentice Week (6-13 February) to call for the UK automotive aftermarket to increase its support of training and apprenticeships. “The best investment our industry can commit... -
Global growth an ongoing objective at Treadsetters
With current trading partnerships in over 30 countries around the world, Telford-based Treadsetters has established a niche for itself as an international business service provider and wholesaler of tyres and steel wheels. The company bases its... -
Michelin’s Rollier to retire mid-year
In February 2011 Michel Rollier announced he didn’t intend to complete his current term of office as managing general partner and chairman of Michelin, as he would be 72 years old when his tenure ended. Rollier, now 67, has decided to retire from... -
Pirelli supports Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy
With impeccable timing during the current cold snap, Pirelli and the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy have got together to help learner drivers become more aware of the risks of hazardous driving conditions. Pirelli has supplied the Mercedes-Benz... -
A growing manufacturer in a growing market - Pirelli's truck business
Ugo Forner, senior vice president of Pirelli’s truck business unit, shares an insight into a sector of the world’s fifth largest tyre maker that is sometimes concealed in the shadow of the company’s sporting ambitions (such as Formula 1) and its... -
MOT decision positive for motorists, says HiQ
The HiQ fast fit chain has applauded the Government’s decision to back down on plans to change MOT test frequency – a measure it said would “hit the pockets of motorists harder than ever.” HiQ says Transport Secretary Justine Greening’s... -
Trelleborg prepares for JV with organisational changes
Swedish company Trelleborg has announced a number of organisational changes in preparation for the start of a light and heavy vehicle anti-vibration solutions joint venture with Germany’s Freudenberg & Co. KG. Trelleborg says the changes will... -
Nokian profit up 82% in 2011
Despite the biting chill of the Finnish winter, the team at Nokian Tyres has surely been warmed by the company’s performance results for the 2011 financial year, which were released on 8 February. During the twelve month period group net sales rose... -
ANRPC: 2011 production up 6.4%
The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) reports that Q1 2012 Production Growth is expected to marginally increase by 0.3 per cent. During 2011ANRPC's total production rose 6.7 per cent to 10.127 million tons, faster than the...
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Stamford’s Firenza continues to develop light commercial size range
Now well established in the UK and European market sectors, the Firenza SV053 light truck and van tyre, manufactured by Singapore based Stamford Tyre International, offers a pattern designed using Japanese technology, the company says. Rob Henderson,... -
Sailun’s Commercio light commercial pattern “well received” in Europe
Sailun’s specialist light truck and commercial tyre pattern is called the Commercio – available in 16 sizes, the range is available through Sailun’s expanding European distributor network. The company’s European managing director, Martin West... -
Michelin claims strategic validation in 2011 financial report
Michelin announced its full financial year report for 2011 today, its board claiming a vindication of its strategy in the process. The company produced “extraordinary results” according to chief financial officer Marc Henry, who presented the... -
Avon deploys new tyre for British GT Championship
The Avon brand, manufactured by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Ltd, has unveiled the fourth generation of its GT racing tyre since it took over as sole supplier and title sponsor of the series in 2006. Avon Tyres Motorsport technical manager,... -
Market view: MTS/Southam on 4x4 tyres
Micheldever Tyre Services distributed in excess of 800,000 4x4 tyres in the UK tyre market in 2011, especially through its Southam division which has a history specialising in the 4x4 sector. According to the company, this makes Southam “probably...
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Report: Cheng Shin, Kenda earnings to grow fast in 1Q 2012
Taiwan-based tyre makers including Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co. and Kenda Rubber Industrial Co., are expected to see substantial growth in earnings in the first quarter of 2012 due to declines in raw material prices, particularly natural rubber. Furthermore, according to Taiwan Economic News, the European sovereign debt crisis means tyre manufacturers have slashed inventories to get rid of the risk in the prices of stocked goods. -
Hankook establishes new subsidiary in Poland
Hankook Tire has established an additional subsidiary in Europe. The opening of the company’s Polish branch in Warsaw is in keeping with the growing demand for Hankook tyres in the European markets. “Thanks to our new subsidiary in Poland we are now also able to provide full service to our partners and customers in the 6th largest tyre market in the European Union. This is in-line with Hankook’s strategy of close market and customer... -
New trade deal will aid US doing tyre business with South Korea
TIA says that the renewed free trade deal with South Korea is a good deal for the U.S. tyre market. President Obama signed the renewal of the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which was part of a trade pact originally agreed to between the U.S. and South Korea in 2007 – Korean-United States Free Trade Agreement. -
Tyre hijackers arrested
The Malay Mail reports that four armed intruders forced their way into a used-tyre factory in the township of Bandar Bukit Puchong, Malaysia, overpowering a security guard, who was bound and gagged, before driving off with a trailer loaded with 319 tyres. -
Pakistani tyre maker still under pressure from ‘smuggling’
Years of under-invoicing and rampant cross-border smuggling are still putting pressure on domestic tyre suppliers in Pakistan. So what’s the solution? Raid tyre markets in big cities instead of trying to stop smuggling along the long Pakistan-Afghanistan border, says General Tyre Pakistan chief executive Mohammad Shahid Hussain. -
Michelin extends with Ceva in Thailand
Michelin Thailand has renewed its logistics contract with Ceva for three years, to handle inbound tyres from Michelin’s production plants into warehouse facilities in three main locations across Thailand; Laemchabang, Nongkea and Nongree. -
Bulgarian police target pothole tyre puncturers
Bulgarian traffic police are making renewed efforts to tackle the reckless puncturing of tyres caused by criminals placing spikes in potholes. Police sources said that the recent examples have been deliberated set up to cause rapid deflations or blow-outs. According to the Sofia news agency, which cited private TV channel bTV, the tip-off to this crime was given by a Polish family, who complained to traffic authorities after narrowly escaping a... -
Cooper refuses comment on Trayal investment reports
Cooper has refused to comment on multiple Serbian news reports quoting Serbian finance secretary Miodrag Djidic as saying that Cooper Tire is interested in acquiring Trayal’s automobile tyre plant. When questioned on the subject, a Cooper Tire Europe spokesperson told Tyres & Accessories that’ the company’s “corporate policy is not to comment on rumour or speculation.” -
Pakistan sales champion Panther aiming to improve exports
Under the leadership of Mian Iftikhar Ahmed, the dedicated team Mian Tyre & Rubber Company Limited (MTRCL), which sells the Panther brand of tyres, has won the Pakistan export trophy for the last eight consecutive years. Now, the flagship business of Iftikhar Group of Companies, a leading tyre and tube manufacturing group in Pakistan is aiming to increase exports still further. According to the company, the Panther trade name has developed a... -
Bridgestone to invest in Costa Rica production and services
Two planned investments will increase Bridgestone’s presence in Costa Rica: The local subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO), Bridgestone de Costa Rica, has announced the company’s new Financial Shared Services Center for the Latin American Region is to be located in the Central American country. Bridgestone also confirmed it will invest US$70 million in its La Ribera de Belen tyre factory in Heredia province over the next...
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
Is the European tyre market ready for tyre labelling when it is introduced in November 2012?
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