MOTORSPORT
At the end of September Hankook announced that, as of next season, it will be the exclusive technology partner and tyre supplier of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The announcement was made at an event in The Swarovski Crystal Worlds in Austria on 27 September, where Tyres & Accessories was present to witness Hankook being officially presented with the newly developed Hankook iON race tyres.
Yokohama Rubber has announced it will cease supplying karting tyres at the end of this year. The tyre maker says its management team reached this decision “after careful consideration of various viewpoints” related to restructuring as part of the company’s mid-term management plan.
BitcoinRacing was formed with the stated aim speeding up the adoption of Bitcoin as an everyday currency. Writing at the start of the year, company representatives explained that the plan is to achieve that end “by travelling 5000 miles across the UK in 2022 with an HGV transporter decorated in Bitcoin decals and entering four race cars into the Nankang City Car Cup…” That, they continued, will make the team a “mobile advertisement for Bitcoin”.
Audi will compete in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship with a specially developed power unit from 2026. The project will be based at Audi Sport’s facility in Neuburg near Ingolstadt. This is the first time in more than a decade that a Formula 1 power train will be built in Germany. Audi will announce a decision on which team they will be lining up with in 2026 by the end of this year.
Michelin is parting ways with the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship following the 2021/22 season finale. With Hankook limbering up and ready to take over next year, the French tyre maker has looked back on its eight years with the championship, convinced that its work has “made a concrete contribution to the success enjoyed by Formula E today.”
The legendary Nürburgring 24 Hours is one of the highlights of the endurance season for motorsport fans all over the world. This weekend (26th to 29th May) sees the 50th staging of the classic race, which will feature a MINI John Cooper Works for the first time for ten years. The race car, based on the cult British car and run by the Bulldog Racing team, will be supported by Hankook with the high-end Ventus Race tyre, which has proven itself in numerous endurance races.
Pirelli has named former FIA head of F1 communications Matteo Bonciani its head of motorsport communications. In this role, Bonciani takes responsibility for communications throughout all the company’s motorsport programmes, including Formula 1, the World Rally Championship, and GT. Pirelli says Bonciani’s appointment as head of motorsport communications represents part of a restructuring of its motorsport department within the overall communications and brand image department.
The Autosport International Show scheduled for January 2022 has been postponed. According the event’s organisers, the decision was made “in response to the ongoing Covid-19 variants and the Government’s recent directives related to the Omicron variant”. No new date for the 31st edition of the Autosport International Show has yet been confirmed.
GT Radial sponsored racing partner, Benjamin Boulbes finished the shortened 2021 French Elite Drift FFSA Championship on a high, securing first place in the final race of the season.
On 20 November the D1GP 2021 season finale started in Ebisu, Japan. Racing driver Naoto Suenaga, part of Linglong Tire’s Drift Team Orange won the Tsuiso event while another Linglong driver, Mekuwa Kojiro, was the runner-up.
Tyre test firm Tread’s founder, Ray Collier secured the Class C MGCC Cockshoot cup championship at the weekend of 11-12 September with a win at Snetterton and a second place. As a result, the overall Cockshoot Cup also went down to the wire at Snetterton, with Brian Butler in Class F managing to successfully retain the overall title by 3 Points from Ray Collier in Class C.
Michelin and Dorna Sports have confirmed a new three-year contract extension with Michelin. The extended tyre supply deal will see the French firm continue as the sole official tyre supplier to MotoGP until at least 2026 and therefore means the partners will reach the milestone of a decade racing together.
Benjamin Boulbes has started the defence of the French Elite Drift FFSA Championship in a brand new car on GT Radial Champiro SX2 tyres.
A ceremony was held at Nexen Tire’s R&D centre in Seoul yesterday to mark the official debut of the N’Fera Racing Team. Several of the South Korean tyre maker’s top executives attended the event, including chief executive officer Travis (Ho-chan) Kang, as well as Hwang Doyun, the team’s first driver.
Team Rosberg has been using products from Munich-based garage equipment specialists Beissbarth for years. Now, however, the cooperation has now been extended and means: Team Rosberg can further optimize its performance on the racetrack, while the Beissbarth developers can rely on the experience of a professional and successful racing team. This team is now using the RaceScales electronic corner weight scale and the innovative Q.Lign wheel alignment device and the employees were enthusiastic from day one.
Hankook
BitcoinRacing
Hankook
Autosport International
Linglong
Dickon Siddal
Michelin
GT Radial
Beissbarth