Anyone planning to visit next year’s Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) should hold off making reservations at their favourite fondue restaurant and can forget slipping away for a spot of skiing, as in 2023 it will exclusively take place in Doha, Qatar. The Comité permanent du Salon international de l’automobile de Genève foundation has announced the cancellation of the event planned for Geneva in February 2023.
Swedish based recycling machinery maker, Eldan, has announced that it is supplying Qatar’s Modern Recycling Factory (MRF). MRF is based in Mesaieed Industrial City and is already now operational. The US$41.3 million facility was financed and endorsed more than two years ago by Al Khalij Commercial Bank in support of Qatar’s green-technology business sector.
Pirelli will continue as the event main sponsor at the next round of the ENI FIM Superbike World Championship in Malaysia. Taking place at Sepang International Circuit on 2 August, the event is known as the Pirelli Malaysian Round. Pirelli has identified Malaysia – as well as Qatar – as World Superbike Championship events with particular marketing value, increasing its visibility in growing, high performance markets.
Pirelli is to be the main sponsor of the grand finale of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship. Held next weekend in Qatar at the Losail International Circuit, Doha, the last round of the season will take the official name: “Pirelli Qatar Round”. The event is also notable as the first time the Superbike World Championship will take place at night.
According to a German newspaper, Continental plans to step down as a World Cup sponsor. The Hannoversche Allgemeine (HAZ) writes that in future the tyre maker intends instead to solely sponsor regional confederations, such as Europe’s UEFA. This change to the company’s multi-million commitment is also said to apply to the next World Cup. “We have nothing more to do with the coming events in Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022,” the newspaper quoted a Continental spokesperson as saying.
On Sunday the first race of the 2014 MotoGP gets underway at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit, and Bridgestone says it “has not forgotten the growing army of fans attracted to MotoGP” in its sixth year as official series tyre supplier. To aid spectator involvement, the tyre maker has introduced a new sidewall colour marking system into the series and will debut this in Qatar.
Apollo Tyres has announced plans to enter the growing Qatar tyre market in the Middle East region. According to the company, the market entry was marked with a product introduction to the Business Partners in Qatar, in the presence of Indian Ambassador to Qatar, H E Shri Sanjeev Arora, late evening yesterday.
Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo dominated the Italian Grand Prix ahead of Honda’s Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso. Bridgestone’s special construction rear slick tyre, provided in order to give riders another option for dealing with Mugello’s abrasiveness and high track temperatures of around 49°C, was only used by Casey Stoner, who finished eighth; the rest of the top ten all used the hard slicks on both front and rear.
Avintia Blusens’ rider Iván Silva put in a hot lap on slick tyres during a damp first practice session at Jerez to finish Friday on top of the timesheets. Conditions were neither fully wet nor dry during the first practice session and only eight riders chose to go out. Sporadic rain continued falling throughout the morning session and continued right until the start of FP2. The earlier downpour resulted in enough standing water on the circuit to necessitate wet tyres in FP2.
Bridgestone is taking its medium and extra hard front and its medium and hard rear compounds to Qatar for the first MotoGP of the 2011 season. The Losail International Circuit again heralds a return to action on 20 March for motorcycle racing’s top category and for Bridgestone, which returns as the official tyre supplier to the premier class for the third year. The manufacturer says that following the Tohoku earthquake, it has pledged support for the relief and recovery of its home nation and to those affected by the events of last Friday, while “doing its best in this difficult situation to ensure that MotoGP tyre supply will be uninterrupted”.
Valentino Rossi won the first race of the season in spectacular style after an intense race-long battle between the top four, comprising his Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo who finished second having fought his way past both Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso, who finished third, and a very close fourth-placed Nicky Hayden. Every rider but Pramac Racing’s Mika Kalli opted for the harder option front Bridgestone slick.
Bridgestone says that it has “adopted a different approach to slick tyre compound selection” for the inaugural race of the 2010 MotoGP season, which gets underway beneath the floodlights of the Losail circuit in Qatar on 11 April. The company is making its medium and extra hard compound slicks available for the front, with mediums and hards on the rear, signifying a change in policy not only from the softer compounds of 2009, but also in the doubling of the incremental change of the front fitments.
With modifiers bringing cars to the Barbican Turbo and the Top 100 in Abu Dhabi from as far as Oman and Qatar last year, this time round Konig Wheels wants to get in on the action. Hamid Moaref, manager of Konig Wheels & Accessories division, Varga Trading, in the Middle East stated: “We’ve been strong supporters of Barbican Turbo from day one – it’s important to have a show dedicated purely to customising vehicles in this region…It’s all about finding the most stylish ‘show cars’ in the region and this fits perfectly with the Konig Wheels brand as our motto is ‘style is king’”. All entries to the Top 100 will receive a 20 per cent discount voucher for Konig Wheels from the organisers.
It was a win for Bridgestone in Qatar as Australia’s Casey Stoner rode his Ducati to victory in the MotoGP season opener. He squeezed out pole position starter Valentino Rossi’s Yamaha during the race’s final laps to take this, his first MotoGP victory.
While Michelin appears confident about maintaining its apparent advantage in the MotoGP tyre war, competitor Bridgestone believes the fight is still too close to call.
With the switch from 990cc to 800cc bikes in 2007 a greater emphasis has been placed upon cornering, with the bikes’ reduced power allowing greater cornering speeds. Michelin has replaced their 16.5-inch front tyre with a 16-inch alternative that permits lighter handling, and this new tyre performed well during February’s qualifying tests in Qatar, with Honda’s Dani Pedrosa achieving the fastest times.
