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.
Bridgestone is supplying Potenza branded slick tyres as a new chapter in its Volkswagen supply partnership begins at the Green Hell of the Nürburgring. Volkswagen’s electric ID. R will aim to beat the lap record for electric vehicles on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in summer 2019. Bridgestone is a long-term original equipment tyre supplier for the firm’s production vehicles, and the new deal sees the companies expand their partnership into motorsport. The ID. R is the racing forerunner to the new ID. product family – Volkswagen’s wide range of purely electric vehicles to be launched from 2020.
Falken Motorsports has introduced a new Porsche 911 GT3 R for the start of the 2019 motorsport season. The new Porsche will compete alongside the team’s BMW M6 GT3 at the Nürburgring, continuing the Japanese tyre brand’s 20-year commitment to the legendary Nordschleife with racing cars from two premium car manufacturers.
Following the completion of the 2018 motorsport season, Giti Tire says it will feature a record four vehicles participating in the 24 Hours Nürburgring race, including driving the first all-women racing and technician team. The pioneering all-women team is the first of its kind at the 24 Hours Nürburgring race.
Falken Motorsports has become the first team to supply a set of test tyres for the new Porsche 911 GT3 R on the Nürburgring.
Falken Tyre Europe says 1 September 2018 will go down in the annals of Falken Motorsports after it celebrated a double win at the Nürburgring – the first in its almost 20 years of VLN participation. The 1-2 finish saw Martin Ragginger and Klaus Bachler dominate the sixth round of the VLN Endurance Championship and win for the first time in the Porsche 911 GT3 R, ahead of Falken team colleagues Stef Dusseldorp and Alexandre Imperatori in the BMW M6 GT3.
On 28 May 1983, the late Stefan Bellof set a new outright lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife when he propelled his Porsche 956 around its entire 20.832 kilometres in 6 minutes 11.13 seconds. This record stood until 29 June 2018 when another Porsche – the spectacular 919 Evo – was brought into play during the 919 Tribute Tour. With Timo Bernhard behind the wheel, the Porsche hybrid sped around the Nordschleife in just 5 minutes 19.55 seconds.
Following the opening round at Silverstone in April, the Yokohama-supported TCR UK race series heads north for its Scottish debut this coming weekend. Twelve cars have been confirmed for the series’ first visit to Knockhill circuit in Fife. The series aims to offer an emphasis on close racing and excitement for spectators.
The 24h race at the Nürburgring is billed as the biggest race in the world, with 151 vehicles and more than 500 drivers taking part. Dunlop is equipping numerous professional and ambitious customer teams for the race on 12 – 13 May. They will compete on a 25.4-kilometre combination of the Grand Prix course and the Nordschleife. This year, the tyre brand says it is “on the mission to defend” its 2017 title. Dunlop and Audi achieved overall victory last year, setting a record-breaking distance of 4,009.7 kilometres.
The Team Oliver Racing truck on Giti’s CV Show stand launched the tyre manufacturer’s involvement in the British Truck Racing Championship 2018, both as sponsor of Team Oliver Racing and through its global competition truck tyre, the Giti Race-Tuned v1.
The Falken brand has signed on as an official sponsor of the 24-Hour Race Nürburgring, which takes place between 10 and 13 May. This promotion of Falken during the event will take place in addition to Team Falken Motorsports’ race participation with two vehicles, its Porsche 911 GT3R and the BMW M6 GT3.
Falken will contest its 20th season at the 2018 Nürburgring 24-Hour Race and subsequent VLN Endurance Championship. The Falken Motorsports driver line-up, which has been altered for 2018, are competing in its two GT3 cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 and BMW M6 GT3. Falken has also produced a video to mark the occasion of two decades on the Nordschleife “Green Hell”.
The new Dunlop Sport Maxx Race 2 has been approved by Porsche as original equipment for the new 911 GT3 RS. The tyre brand will supply sizes 265/35ZR20 (99Y) XL and 325/30ZR21 (108Y) XL to Porsche, both tyres carrying the N1 marking to indicate Porsche homologation.
This year has been a strong one for Falken Tyre on the motorsport front. It has racked up a plethora of titles from its motorsport activities and also secured a first victory in the VLN Endurance Championship as well as a top-ten finish at the notoriously challenging Nürburgring 24-hour race.
British racing driver James Walker will return to the gruelling Nürburgring after a four-year hiatus, driving a Dunlop-shod BMW 235i in the ultra-competitive VLN series. After a successful 15-year career spanning single seaters and sportscars, Walker moved his family back to Jersey and gave up racing, until being tempted back to racing in Germany on 22-23 September.
