Motorsport
Goodyear returns to Le Mans and FIA World Endurance Championship
When Goodyear launched its Eagle F1 series and Supersport tyres back in April, the company said this branding decision meant Goodyear was coming “back to the track”. Now we know precisely what this means as Goodyear has announced that it will re-enter European and International sportscar racing by developing a new range of tyres for the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), including the Le Mans 24-hour race.
Trico’s Sarah Moore secures Britcar points haul at Donington Park
Trico brand ambassador and reigning Britcar Dunlop Endurance Championship titleholder, Sarah Moore, clinched a double-points finish in the fourth-round of the series, held at Donington Park.
Bridgestone helps VW to new Nürburgring electric vehicle record
Volkswagen’s first fully electric race car, the ID.R has broken the electric-powered vehicle lap record on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, using Bridgestone Potenza tyres. The car completed the challenging 20.83km track in 6:05.336 minutes, beating the previous record by 40.56 seconds. Bridgestone custom-developed the Potenza tyres to help the ID.R navigate the demanding track in record-breaking time.
Trico onto top spot as inaugural GT4 South European Series gets underway
Trico enjoyed a winning start to its GT4 South European campaign, as the inaugural series got underway at the Nogaro circuit, with the Tockwith Motorsports (TMS) pairing of Marmaduke Hall and Eddy Moore securing class victory in race two.
GT Radial to join MotoFest Coventry as sprint circuit sponsor
GT Radial is the new main sprint circuit sponsor at this weekend’s Power Maxed MotoFest Coventry 2019. During the UK’s largest urban motorsports festival weekend, the MotoFest Coventry track, created from the city’s ring road, will be named the GT Radial sprint circuit. As part of the sponsorship agreement, GT Radial will run its VW Fun Cup cars on the sprint circuit on both days of the festival weekend.
Pirelli at Paul Ricard for Blancpain GT endurance
Pirelli is bringing its rubber to Paul Ricard as it plays host to the third round of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and the fourth round of the overall championship this weekend. The GT4 European Series and Blancpain GT Sports Club will feature too, both of which also run on Pirelli tyres. The endurance grid will feature 49 cars piloted by 147 drivers during the six-hour race, whichever comes first. There will be 10 manufacturers on the grid: Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes and Porsche. All will run on Pirelli’s P Zero DHD2 slick tyres for the dry and the Cinturato WH for the wet.
Dunlop brings new slick tyre to Isle of Man TT
Dunlop will bring a new version of its KR 108 slick tyre to the Isle of Man TT (IOMTT), as it seeks a continuation to its success at the event. Developed over the winter at a range of test circuits, including a final validation at the traditional pre-IOMTT test at the Castle Combe Circuit, the KR 108 has been designed to heat up faster and give the rider more grip and confidence at the start of the race.
Goodyear extends commitment to FIA European Truck Racing Championship
Goodyear has extended its partnership with the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) as the exclusive tyre provider for the FIA European Truck Racing Championship for a further three years. The announcement, which will see racing trucks run on specially developed Goodyear Truck Racing Tyres, coincides with the beginning of the 2019 season, which takes place in Misano, Italy on 26 May. 1,500 horsepower, 5.5 tonne trucks will race at speeds of up to 160 km/h with acceleration similar to a high performance sports car.
TerraClean hails ‘Donington double’ racing weekend success
Engine decarbonising brand TerraClean saw its two sponsored driving stars continue to impress in the early stages of their respective 2019 campaigns, in both the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and Renault UK Clio Cup races, held at Donington Park recently.
Formula 2: Pirelli supplying 18” tyres from 2020
In 2021, Formula 1 will bid farewell to 13-inch rims and tyres with chubby sidewalls, with the switch to an 18-inch dimension taking place that season. The onus falls upon exclusive tyre supplier Pirelli to develop rubber for the 2021 F1 cars, and Pirelli says its development will be greatly aided by the adoption of the 18-inch tyre size in ‘feeder’ series Formula 2 from 2020.
Pirelli at Silverstone Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup round 2
Silverstone will host the 3 Hours of Silverstone this weekend, round two of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, exclusively supplied by Pirelli. This follows the opening round of the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe, which took place 160km down the road at Brands Hatch last weekend. The Lamborghini Super Trofeo will feature too, and the entire grid will also run on Pirelli rubber.
McErlean wins Pirelli International Rally double
Pirelli-equipped Junior British Rally Championship driver Josh McErlean won his second straight win in the category on the Pirelli International Rally. McErlean and co-driver Keaton Williams followed their asphalt triumph on the West Cork Rally by leading the way on the gravel stages of Kielder Forest. The Peugeot 208 R2 pair took victory by 53 seconds.
Pirelli supported Ferrari Challenge UK holds prologue test
The new Ferrari Challenge UK has held a prologue test at Brands Hatch ahead of its first ever season. 20 Ferrari 488 Challenge cars in action on the Indy circuit at Brands Hatch, many of them being driven by their owners for the first time. The Ferrari Challenge UK is the first national championship to be operated by Ferrari, alongside its European, North American and Asia Pacific series: all with tyres supplied by Pirelli. The inaugural season features rounds at Brands Hatch, Snetterton, Croft and Silverstone.
UK hosts Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe opener, supported by Pirelli
The opening round of the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe takes place this weekend at Brands Hatch in the UK, with Pirelli supplying the tyres. It will be the sixth outing of the sprint-format series at the circuit, which will host the event on its 3.9km grand prix layout, including the famous Paddock Hill bend, one of the track’s few overtaking spots.
Melksham Motor Spares to exhibit at Japfest 2019
Melksham Motor Spares will appear at Silverstone on 5 May, exhibiting at Japfest 2019, Europe’s biggest Japanese car show. More than 4,000 of Europe’s best Japanese cars from the UK's thriving club scene will appear at the event, alongside drifting displays and a retail village. The independent automotive parts distributor will seek to raise brand awareness at the event.