The recent replacement of the long-running Avon Storm sport-touring tyre range with the new Spirit ST hasn’t marked the end of the line for the Storm. Avon Tyres reports it has developed a new Storm Endurance motorcycle race tyre, and this has already gained its first competitive victory courtesy of Neate Racing’s win at the Spa Classic 4 Hour race in late June.
Germany’s Continental AG has acquired US-based tyre specialist Hoosier Racing Tire for an undisclosed sum. The deal to purchase the formerly privately-owned company was completed on 3 October. The acquisition of Hoosier Racing Tire follows seven years of collaboration with Continental, during which time the two companies worked together on various development and motorsport projects.
A number of changes have been announced within the Race Tire Development (RTD) arm of the North America-based Firestone Racing programme. Bridgestone Americas describes these as a reorganisation and opines that they will add “manufacturing expertise while reaffirming the brand’s commitment to innovation and the Verizon IndyCar Series.”
Semi-slick tyres are unsuitable for road use, state the team behind a comparative test published by Swiss magazine Auto Illustrierte. An evaluation between standard, ultra-high performance and semi-slick tyres conducted at the Goodyear proving ground in Mireval, France showed the racing tyres take much longer to stop on wet road surfaces than their more conventional counterparts. Specialists from TÜV Süd supported the Auto Illustrierte testing and evaluated the results as a neutral partner.
