Bridgestone Produces Limited Edition F1 Snow Tyre
Continental Writes New Chapter in Success Story
New Audi TT Chooses Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Tyres
Pirelli to be Exclusive WRC Tyre Supplier
Nokian Achieves New Ice Driving World Record
New Wheels from Yokohama HPT

Bridgestone Produces Limited Edition F1 Snow Tyre

Bridgestone Motorsport has produced a special Limited Edition F1 Potenza Snow Tyre at the request of the BMW Sauber F1 Team, which conducted a demonstration run of their F1.06 car at the prestigious White Turf horse racing event in St.Moritz, Switzerland at the start of February. The BMW Sauber F1 Team was running the car at the request of team sponsor Credit Suisse, who are main sponsors and partners of the event which this year celebrated 100 years of international horse racing in St.Moritz.

Due to the extreme conditions in which the BMW Sauber F1.06 ran, the special F1 snow tyres, produced by Bridgestone Motorsport's Technical Centre in Tokyo, feature 420 studs on each of the front tyres and 588 studs on each of the rear tyres. It took two Bridgestone technicians over 16 hours to manually insert all 2,016 studs into the double layer of tread compound on one set of tyres alone. Similarly, the horses racing on the frozen lake at St. Moritz also had four studs and a rubber plate attached to each of their front and rear shoes.

Made from tungsten and embedded in aluminium casings, Bridgestone's tyre studs have been designed to specifically provide reliable grip on ice and hard-packed snow.

A similar set of tyres was also recently produced for the Scuderia Ferrari F1 team for their pre-season event on the slopes of Madonna di Campiglio in Italy. By utilising the tread design of Bridgestone's Potenza F1 extreme weather tyres, the irregular placement of the studs in the tyre tread blocks is intended to maximise performance of each stud in the harsh conditions.

In reverse to the policy of transferring technology from F1 tyre development to road car tyres, Bridgestone has transferred its knowledge of road car winter tyre tread compounds to the F1 snow tyres, using a soft, high-grip compound which will enable the tyres to work at a much lower working temperature range to that normally experienced by an F1 tyre on a race circuit.

Continental Writes New Chapter in Success Story

In 2006, Continental AG wrote another new chapter in its success story, outperforming the prior year's record figures for sales and earnings for the fifth time in a row. "We kept our word, and we want to keep up our impressive track record this year as well," said Continental Executive Board chairman Manfred Wennemer.He pointed out that, in a period of ten years, the Company has almost tripled sales while increasing the operating result fivefold.

Based on preliminary figures, consolidated sales increased by 7.6% to €14,887.0 million (2005: €13,837.2 million). Roulunds Rubber A/S contributed €45.3 million to sales (starting May 2006), and Motorola's automotive electronics business €528.4 million (starting July 2006). This was partly offset by the loss of sales following the disposal of the Sealing Systems and Stankiewicz units, and the North American off-the-road tyre operations. Before changes in the scope of consolidation and exchange rate effects, consolidated sales were up 5.8%.

The consolidated operating result (EBIT) increased by €94.8 million over the previous year to €1,601.9 million, a rise of 6.3% (2005: €1,507.1 million). The return on sales was down slightly to 10.8% (2005: 10.9%), due primarily to the initial consolidation of the business operations acquired from Motorola. Roulunds contributed €2.0 million to EBIT. Motorola's automotive electronics business impacted EBIT by €88.9 million. Excluding Motorola's automotive electronics business, the return on sales amounts to 11.8%. Before changes in the scope of consolidation and special effects, EBIT rose by €101.7 million or 6.4% compared to the previous year. Net income attributable to the shareholders of the parent rose by €52.3 million or 5.6% to €981.9 million (2005: €929.6 million). This corresponds to earnings per share of €6.72 (2005: €6.38).

The Passenger and Light Truck Tires division lifted its sales to €4,693.6 million, up 5.6% compared with 2005 (€4,444.6 million). Meanwhile, sales of the Commercial Vehicle Tires division rose to €1,468.3 million, up 6.5%.

New Audi TT Chooses Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Tyres

The Bridgestone Potenza RE050A, with runflat options, will be factory fitted on the stunning new Audi TT. The second-generation roadster will be equipped with: Turanza ER300 225/55R16 , Potenza RE050A 225/50R17, 245/45 R17 and 245/40 R18 tyres when it is launched in April 2007. Options will also include Potenza 17" and 18 runflats - RE050A RFT and RE050 RFT with a non-asymmetric tread design.

The Potenza RE050A is designed to compliment the power and pace of cars like the Audi TT. The outer part of the asymmetric pattern has large stiff blocks for superior dry handling and road holding, while the large contact area dramatically improves cornering performance. Wide channels on the inside of the tread ensure rapid water evacuation. Even at high speeds the contact patch remains clear, putting extra grip on the road and reducing the risk of hydroplaning.

Audi expanded business with Bridgestone significantly in 2006, adding Potenza and Turanza to the A6 and A4 models, and the Dueler H/P Sport tyre to the new Audi Q7.

Pirelli to be Exclusive WRC Tyre Supplier

Pirelli has announced that it has won the right to be the exclusive tyre supplier to the WRC (World Rally Championship) for the three-year period 2008-2010. According to Pirelli, among the motivations for the FIA's choice is Pirelli's century-long commitment to motorsport and rallies in particular.

Pirelli's successful tender for the WRC contract is the company's second such victory in the space of a few weeks: in late January, the Grand Am series, the United States' most exciting championship for prototypes and one of the most popular among American fans, opted for Pirelli PZero tyres for the three-year period 2008-2010.

Nokian Achieves New Ice Driving World Record

A new world record speed for driving on ice was achieved recently when four-times world rally champion Juha Kankkunen, driving on Nokian Hakkapeliitta studded winter tyres, reached a speed of 321 km/h on a track ploughed on the ice of the Gulf of Bothnia next to the city of Oulu.

The Guinness Book of World Records defined strict rules for this world record attempt: the speed was measured over a distance of one kilometre in both directions within one hour; the measuring point was in the middle of a straight part of the track; the ice had to be natural - it could not be roughed up or treated with any chemicals; and the tyres had to be approved for road traffic in the country in which the record attempt took place. The significance of tyres is stressed under extreme speeds as the tyres are the vehicle's only point of contact with the substrate.

The Bentley Continental GT used for the record attempt was equipped with Nokian Hakkapeliitta Sport Utility 5 studded winter tyres. The tyres have been designed and developed for city SUVs. When driving on slippery ice at a very high speed, the tyres need to have a good grip, great durability and driving qualities to match the performance. At these speeds, the tyres and studs have to endure exceptionally demanding conditions. The acceleration formula is demanding: when a vehicle moves at a speed of 320 km/h, a stud weighing one gram creates a pulling force equivalent to approximately 2.2 kg. The vehicle covers 90 metres in one second, and each stud hits the ice more than 40 times a second.

"In order to achieve a steady driving speed of 320 km/h, you need gravity of approximately 300 kg or 3,000 N. For the vehicle to accelerate, you need even more force. The tyres must be able to transfer this force into the ice, or the tyre will slip and the vehicle will not accelerate as hoped," explains Nokian Tyres Development Manager Kai Hauvala. As the air resistance increases, more traction is needed in order to pick up speed. The tyres are under immense pressure at these high speeds, and their diameter can increase by 15-20 mm. The Nokian Hakkapeliitta tyres with their sturdy frame did very well in this demanding wear test: the tyres' grip was as good as hoped for and none of the studs came off.

New Wheels from Yokohama HPT

Yokohama HPT Ltd, one of the UK's leading wheel distributors, has added two new marque-specific brands to its range. - the Redbourne range, designed exclusively for Land Rover and Range Rover models, and August wheels, intended for the Audi range. Both ranges are manufactured in association with TSW.