A win for Michelin-shod Manthey Racing in the shortest ever 24-hour Nürburgring race in history. Thanks to a 14-and-a-half-hour interruption, last weekend’s event was little more than a sprint, with the quickest competitor completing just 59 laps of the Nordschleife before the close of play.
Falken Motorsports will continue its unbroken run of appearances since 1999 at the ADAC TOTAL 24h Race on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in two identical Porsche 911 GT3 R. On 3-6 June 2021, the tyre brand’s motorsport team will contest the formidable endurance race with a top-class line-up of drivers. Lance David Arnold, Klaus Bachler, Thomas Preining and Dirk Werner will compete in the #33 car. Sven Müller, Alessio Picariello, Martin Ragginger and Klaus Bachler (again) will compete in the #44 car. Bachler is anticipating a busy weekend as he takes stints in both Falken cars.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has become one of the first industrial sector users to access the world’s most powerful computer. SRI is using the new ‘exascale’ Fugaku supercomputer to expand its materials simulation capabilities at the smallest particle level. The manufacturer has previously tapped into supercomputer technology to assist with the development of its tyre technology. Its tyre engineers previously used Japan’s K-supercomputer to launch its 4D NANO Design process. SRI credits the resulting step change in performance with the increasing number of accolades and original equipment deals subsequently achieved by its Falken tyre range list.
Tomohiko Masuta has been named as managing director of both Falken Tyre Europe GmbH and Sumitomo Rubber Europe GmbH. Masuta joined Sumitomo Rubber Industries in 1985, first gaining experience in the Product Development department. In the 1990s, he moved to the Original Equipment (OE) area of the business before being dispatched to support the development of the Dunlop brand in European countries. In 2015, he was appointed general manager of OE Tyre Business for SRI, with his most recent role being general manager of the Automotive System Division. In his new appointment, Masuta will oversee the SRI group companies in the EMEA region and Falken businesses in Europe and will drive the growth of OE customers within the region.
Micheldever Tyre Services (MTS) reports that it is offers a “gripping” SUV proposition for retail customers in 2021, with a range of new products available to its tyre retailer network. According to the company, MTS supplies SUV tyres to over 6,000 customers, including a national network of over 250 independent 4×4 and SUV tyre specialists. Changes include new upgraded patterns, helping to bolster MTS’s range of SUV tyres – for both for on and off-road usage.
Falken Tyre’s parent company, Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has successfully developed technology that generates electric power from tyre rotation and supplies this to peripheral tyre sensors. The company says that this marks a major leap towards achieving Sensing Core Technology applications that will be instrumental in enabling future mobility trends.
The Falken Azenis FK510 ultra high-performance tyre’s victory in the ADAC 2021 summer tyre test follows a “highly recommended” rating from both the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) and the Austrian Automobile Touring Club (ÖAMTC) in their 2021 summer tyre tests. The tyre achieved the result in the 225/50 R17 17 Y tyre dimension. This size is suitable for numerous medium-sized vehicles such as the Audi A4 or the Volkswagen Passat. The result marks the second win for a Falken pattern in an ADAC summer tyre test.
Summer tyre tests in 2021 have highlighted the sometimes dazzling qualities of the best performing tyre products. However, the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobilclub’s (ADAC) most recent test appears to have been particularly demanding. No tyre received ADAC’s top “very good” rating, and only five models were rated “good” over the two sizes tested – 205/55 R16 V and 225/50 R17 Y. There were some intriguing results at the top of the table. Falken confirmed its increasingly impressive performance of recent years by winning the 17” tyre test with its Azenis FK510 flagship UHP tyre. The Kumho Ecsta PS71 also achieved a “good” rating in the 17” test, while Continental group brand Semperit’s Speed-Life 3 achieved an overall result matching the Conti PremiumContact 6 in the 16” test. There was worse news for the 17” Firestone Roadhawk, which became the only tyre to receive an “inadequate” report.
Falken will expand its car and SUV tyre lines with a wide range of new fitment options this spring. The Sumitomo Rubber Industries brand will offer 10 new sizes of its Azenis FK510 ultra-high performance tyre, 22 new XL sizes of its Euroall Season AS210 all-season tyre, and 17 new all-terrain tyre sizes in its Wildpeak range.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has announced the next evolution of Sensing Core, and says this latest update to its tyre sensing technology is “revolutionary”. In addition to tyre pressure, tyre load and load conditions, Sensing Core can now detect tyre wear.
Falken Tyres will sponsor a series of television programmes on UKTV’s entertainment channel, Dave. The first national TV advertising campaign for the Sumitomo Rubber Industries global tyre brand was developed by the brand’s UK distributor Micheldever Tyre Services and its partner agency Spark Foundry. Falken idents will appear before and after selected programmes – collectively called “Characters on Dave” – between February and November 2021. These programmes include the popular entertainment shows QI XL, Travel Man, and Would I Lie To You?
Sumitomo Rubber Industries has inaugurated a winter tyre test facility at its Nayoro Tire Proving Ground on the northern island of Hokkaido, one of its main development sites for winter tyres. The 3,000 square metre Nayoro Indoor ICE Field – NICE for short – is one of the largest indoor on-ice tyre testing facilities in Japan.
Falken is expanding its motorsport commitment and will be the new Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) sponsor for the 2021 season. The agreement sees the tyre brand secure prominent logo placement on the front wings of all competing race cars in the series. In addition, there will be significant trackside signage on the start/finish straight and winners’ podium, as well as branding on the official NLS homepage with further promotional opportunities planned.
With more than 30 years’ experience, Andy ‘Ace’ Harrison is amongst the UK’s foremost specialists in the original Mini. Harrison has repaired, raced, rallied, restored, bought, and sold all types of Mini via his Acespeed business in Shipley, Yorkshire. As one of the world’s leading authorities on Minis, it is no surprise that one particularly iconic Mini found its way back to Harrison, as its famous new owner sought to restore the model.
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