An event billed as ‘Australia’s Greatest Desert Race’ took place earlier this month in the vast emptiness of Australia’s Red Centre. This was of course the Tatts Finke Desert Race, held between 7 and 10 June. Yokohama Rubber shares with pride that its tyres were worn by the winning vehicle in the Extreme 4WD class.
Bridgestone has retained the title of ‘Australia’s Most Trusted Tyre Brand’ for a sixth consecutive year. The leading tyre company remains the sole recipient of the coveted award since the tyres category was added to Reader’s Digest’s Most Trusted Brands accolades in 2014.
Bridgestone’s mining tyre service subsidiary in Australia has established a second solution centre in the country. Bridgestone Mining Solutions Australia Pty. Ltd. (BMSA) opened the Hunter Valley Mining Solution Centre (HMSC) yesterday.
Australia-based Green Distillation Technologies (GDT) reports that it has already pre-sold all the oil the firm expects to obtain from old tyres recycled in its planned Toowoomba plant. Indeed, GDT reports that the company has already sold its entire oil output from plants in North Queensland and Wagga in Southern New South Wales as well.
Pirelli travels to Albert Parks’ “slightly unusual” street circuit for the Formula 1 2019 season curtain-raiser in Melbourne, Australia this weekend. The exclusive tyre supplier nominated its C2, C3, and C4 compounds as the hard, medium, and soft tyres, saying that the track has a more flowing rhythm that also takes in some reasonably quick corners than stop-and-go street circuits, like Monaco or Singapore.
The Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour starts on the last day of January. The endurance race in Australia marks the start of the season for oil and additive specialist Liqui Moly. “We’re looking forward to an exciting race,” says Peter Baumann, marketing manager with Liqui Moly, adding that the endurance race is a key marketing component for the company.
Yet another sports sponsorship for BKT – following on from the start of its Serie B and Coupe de la Ligue title sponsorships in Italy and France, the off-highway tyre specialist has entered into a partnership with the KFC Big Bash League (BBL) cricket league in Australia. BKT has signed an agreement with governing body Cricket Australia that secures its status as off-highway tyre supplier to the Twenty20 cricket league for three years.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. (SRI), manufacturer of the Falken tyre brand as well as the Dunlop tyre brand for Japan and several other markets, has entered into a sponsorship agreement for the Australian Open. The agreement with Tennis Australia sees SRI become official supplier of tennis balls for the Australian Open starting in 2019, and official supplier for the Emirates Australian Open Series. As such, SRI is the first Japanese company to become an official ball supplier for a Grand Slam tournament.
Continental is set to gain a sizeable retail presence in Australia through its acquisition of acquire Kmart Tyre and Auto Service (KTAS), one of the country’s largest tyre and auto service suppliers. The company says the purchase of KTAS from Wesfarmers Limited for AU$350 million (£199.8 million) will “greatly reinforce” its tyre dealership network in Australia.
Rights to use the Dunlop brand name on tyres and related products are mainly divided up around the world between Goodyear Tire & Rubber and Sumitomo Rubber Industries. In Australia, Goodyear acts as rightsholder to the Dunlop brand, and this makes a recent court decision significant.
Monash Motorsport, from Australia, has claimed victory at Formula Student 2018, the student racing car event run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The team saw off competition from 129 student teams from over 30 countries at Silverstone.
Australian Reader’s Digest has compiled and released its 2018 Most Trusted Brands list, and Bridgestone returns as a top-ten trusted brand. The tyre maker was ranked in tenth place across all trusted brands categories, finishing ahead of Aussie staples such as Vegemite and Aerogard. Bridgestone also claimed the title of ‘Australia’s Most Trusted Tyre Brand’ – a distinction introduced in 2014 – for the fifth consecutive year. Goodyear and Michelin were named as ‘highly recommended’ brands in the tyre category.
The season opener of the WorldSBK Championship 2018 began in Australia today, and Pirelli is back for a 15th year as official tyre supplier for all classes. For the race weekend, riders will have a total of seven tyre options open to them (in addition to the super soft qualifier tyre that can only be used in the second session of Superpole), four front and three rear tyres, and in addition to the tyres evaluated on testing days, riders can select an additional front and rear option.
