Avon Tyres and Caterham marked 60 years of the car manufacturer’s Seven as Sir Chris Hoy took on a 60 Second Donut Challenge at Donington Park. Hoy completed a record 19 consecutive donuts in the time allocation in Caterham’s most powerful model, the Seven 620R on Avon’s ZZS tyres.
While Michael Dunlop was busy making history on Dunlop, the tyre brand also saw new records set on four wheels. Running on medium compound Sport Maxx BTCC race tyres, triple British Rally Champion Mark Higgins beat the previous record for a car around the Isle of Man TT Mountain course.
While Dunlop-shod riders will be bidding to break more records and win races across all two-wheeled classes at this year’s Isle of Man TT, the company’s bid for honours doesn’t end there. Dunlop has teamed up with another of the event partners, Subaru, to tackle the IOMTT Mountain course for a record-breaking attempt on four wheels.
Coatings firm Zircotec will provide heat transfer protection to the Bloodhound SSC ahead of its UK test in Newquay, when engineers hope to push the car to 1000mph and above. Cooling the tightly-packaged Rocket engine together with ensuring the volatile HTP (High Test Peroxide) doesn’t decompose before it reaches the rocket chamber and in effect become a bomb are two key considerations for the team.
Honda has set a new Guinness World Records title for ‘Lowest fuel consumption – all 24 contiguous EU countries (all cars)’, recording an average 100.31 miles per gallon over 8,387 miles, in a 25 day drive across all 24 EU contiguous countries.
Audi and the RAC have officially set a new Guinness World Records title by driving to 14 countries on a single tank of fuel. The unmodified Audi A6 TDI ultra chosen for the challenge comfortably exceeded its official 67mpg-plus potential by averaging a remarkable 75.9mpg and completing a total of 1158.9 miles without the need for a fuel-stop. Motoring journalist Andrew Frankel and racing driver Rebecca Jackson drove the A6 TDI ultra almost non-stop for nearly 28 hours from the Netherlands to Hungary, passing through Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia – 14 countries in all.
Mile-devouring fuel economy is likely to be a key consideration for most drivers of the 67mpg Audi A6 TDI ultra, but on this occasion it is nothing short of crucial, because a Guinness World Records title attempt depends on it.
Nokian Tyres and Valtra have combined their expertise to set a new record for tractors, clocking 130.165km/h (80.88mph) on a snowy and icy road in Finnish Lapland. Multiple World Rally champion, Juha Kankkunen drove the Valtra T234, which ran on the world’s first winter tyre for tractors, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta TRI (440/80R28 151D & 540/80R38 167D). Click through to the full story to watch a video documenting the new World Record.
On 20–21 March, 14-time motor sports record-holder Andrey Leontyev and ice captain Alexander Burmeyster set an absolute record by achieving the greatest average speed on ice over a 1000km course on Lake Baikal. The vehicle used was a Volkswagen Touareg production vehicle with standard tyres and service fluids.
Continuing our coverage of developments in the UK tyre retail sector, Tyres & Accessories reports on the following 15 companies in its 2014 top 20 leading UK tyre retailers report. After the market leading five, the next five companies in the top 20 are the fastest growing in our ranking, and probably in the market as a whole. Like Micheldever/Protyre, McConechy’s Tyre Service has grown significantly since our last survey, adding seven branches to its number and pushing its total up to 52. This brings the company’s total back to pre-recessionary levels and could be read as another indication of improving conditions in the market.
Honda (UK)’s Mean Mower (#meanmower) has officially broken the Guinness World Records title for the fastest lawnmower, averaging 116.57 mph, to break the previous record by almost 30mph. The successful Guinness World Records attempt took place under the watchful eye of a Guinness World Records Adjudicator at the IDIADA Proving Ground, in Tarragona, Spain, on […]
Pro-Align has launched a new online Support Zone for technicians and workshop owners. The distributor of Hunter wheel alignment systems, balancers and changers says the site will give easier and greater access to support materials, including answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about Pro-Align. The Support Zone is available at www.pro-align.co.uk. “In […]
Direct Line for Business (DL4B) has officially launched DrivePlus Van, its new telematics App for van drivers that is free to download. Immediately available on both iPhone, iOS 6 and above, and Android 2.2 Froyo or later, the App enables van drivers to monitor driving behaviours, with the potential to save money on their insurance.
A study across 10 major UK cities, quoted on the IAAF e-bulletin, revealed that some 10.1 per cent of vehicles checked in were found to have a failed headlight, sidelight, rear or brake-light; a proportion equating to some 2.6 million vehicles on UK roads right now.
The scale of the problem is also reflected in MOT failure rates with 1.16 million cars tested in 2012 falling short of required standards because of the condition of their lights.
The Federation Internationale de I’Automobile (FIA) Land Speed Records Commission has homologated Continental Tire the Americas’ world speed records for both ten kilometres and ten miles from a standing start. The tyre maker, in conjunction with Michael Shank Racing, Ford, Roush Yates Engines and International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) set out to break the records at Daytona International Speedway on 9 October 2013; the attempt was made by Colin Braun, who drove a Ford EcoBoost-powered Daytona Prototype (DP) fitted with Continental’s ExtremeContact DR (Dry, Race) tyres.
