Tyre News

Hansen Wins for Avon
Michelin Teams Prove Winners in Energy Saver Economy Run
BSB Fan Joins Team Maxxis for Season Finale
Micheldever Group Jumps 49 Places in Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250
Cooper Tire Signs as British F3 International Title Sponsor
F1 Day Raises £1000 for Charity
Maxxis Enjoys EDC Success
Michelin man Goes on the Buses to Save CO2
Official New Lap Record for the Alzen Porsche on Hankook Tyres at the Nürburgring Nordschleife
Avon Tyres Extends Title Sponsorship of British GT

Hansen Wins for Avon

Rallycross legend Kenneth Hansen's record 14th FIA European Rallycross Championship (ERC) title has crowned a year of domination for Avon Tyres in the category. Hansen's 500bhp, four-wheel drive, Citroën C4 has run on Avon's new-for-2008 ACB11 this year. The tyre was specially designed for the ERC and has also carried the winners of Divisions 1A and 2, as well as the RX Cup class.

Swede Hansen finished fourth in the penultimate round of the championship, in Poland, to wrap up the main Division 1 title on his 225/640-17 ACB11s. He finished the year eight points ahead of nearest rival, Ludvig Hunsbedt.

Michelin Teams Prove Winners in Energy Saver Economy Run

Two teams of drivers from Michelin have scored notable success in an annual fuel economy run, taking top ten places at their first attempt. Both crews achieved more than 80 miles per gallon and one team exceeded published government figures by 30% in Peugeot 308s fitted with latest low rolling resistance Energy Saver tyres.

The ALD Automotive TOTAL Excellium MPG Marathon organised by Fleetworld magazine took 39 competing teams over a "real world" route from Bristol to Macclesfield and back - a distance of more than 400 miles - with all the normal road traffic conditions of delays, traffic lights, hold-up and slow-moving tractors!

Achieving these record mpg results was a credit to the Michelin staff members attempting the event for the very first time. Michelin fleet manager John Stack and co-driver Nicola Sergeant finished a highly creditable fifth car overall, their Peugeot 308 S Hdi 90 on Michelin Energy Saver tyres returning 83.04 mpg, an improvement of 32.45% over the official figure of 62.7 mpg.

A similar success was achieved by Mike Lawton and co-driver Christina Black who returned 80.58 mpg in their Peugeot 308 S Hdi 90 to show a 28.5% improvement.

John Stack was delighted to set these outstanding MPG figures; "It goes to prove that all drivers can achieve significant fuel savings by simply driving more carefully, anticipating the road conditions ahead, being lighter on the accelerator pedal and using a higher gear where possible. The MPG marathon was a real test and Nicola and I proved that we can all save expensive fuel on the road if we put our minds to it".

BSB Fan Joins Team Maxxis for Season Finale

Maxxis was the Official Tyre Partner for this year's Isle of Man TT Races and ran a web-based caption competition to raise awareness of its sponsorship of this historic meet and promote its brand among some of the most knowledgeable motorcycle sports fans.

Trevor King from Mansfield won the top prize of VIP hospitality for two at the last round of the 2008 British Superbike Championship (BSB) on Sunday, October 12. Runner up in the competition was Janet Davies of Harkstead, near Ipswich, who won a Maxxis rally jacket, fleece and polo shirt, while the third prize of a Maxxis jacket went to Cody Kullar of Sunderland.

Micheldever Group Jumps 49 Places in Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250

Micheldever, the UK's largest independent tyre wholesaler, distributor and retailer has jumped 49 places to 154th position in the annual Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250 league table of the best performing mid-market private companies, after achieving an impressive annual sales total of more than £224 million in the last financial year, an increase of almost 33% on the previous year's performance. They were the only tyre company to make it into the prestigious listing.

The league table, co-sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, ranks Britain's 250 biggest mid-market private companies by their latest sales, which range between £167m and £536m. In addition to retailers from the automotive industry, corporations span across numerous sectors which include construction, IT and property.

Elated at this year's ranking in the Top Track 250 League Table, Paul Fox, Chief Executive explains: "The Micheldever Group's prominence in this year's Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250 underlines our position as the UK's largest and most profitable tyre distribution business, achieved by providing our customers with unbeatable quality, service and value."

Cooper Tire Signs as British F3 International Title Sponsor

Cooper Tire has been announced as the new tyre supplier and title sponsor of the prestigious British F3 International Series. The agreement will commence for the 2009 season and run until the end of 2011. The US tyre manufacturer takes over the role held for 25 years by Avon Tyres, a brand owned and manufactured by Cooper.

The British F3 International Series, widely acknowledged as the toughest domestic single-seater championship in the world, has produced champions and future Formula 1 stars such as David Coulthard, Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, Mika Hakkinen and Ayrton Senna.

"Through our many years in British F3 with the Avon brand, we know that it is a genuine stepping stone of great drivers on the way to F1, and therefore requires the very best components in every area," explains Julian Baldwin, managing director of Cooper Tire Europe.

"Avon Tyres is very well established in British and European motor racing and, as Cooper Tire grows as a brand in Europe, we want it to stand for the same standard of quality. Cooper's racing tyres deserve to be allied with a high-profile championship in Europe and you don't get much bigger than British F3."

F1 Day Raises £1000 for Charity

First Stop dealership, Addison Tyres, pulled out all the stops recently to raise £1000 for Leukaemia CARE. The company hosted an event at its depot, in Tipton in the Midlands, where they showcased Bridgestone's Formula One car and simulator to help raise money for the charity. Visitors to the charity event were invited to have their picture taken with the Formula One car and test their driving skills in the simulator where budding racers competed to set the fastest lap.

Winners on the day were local lads Thomas Foster and Richard Taiwo who set record times on the simulator and Neil Porter who scooped top prize of an exclusive Formula One factory tour for him and his son, Grant, in a prize draw also held at the event. The charity, which is particularly close to owner Jason Addison's heart, provides care and support to families whose lives are affected by leukaemia and other cancer related illnesses.

Maxxis Enjoys EDC Success

Maxxis achieved notable success in the 2008 European Drift Championship (EDC) when sponsored drivers Declan Hicks and Mark Luney finished in the top third of the 29-strong field, thanks in no small part to the performance of their Maxxis MA-Z1 tyres. The 2008 EDC comprised six rounds - five at UK circuits and a season finale in Poznan, Poland, at the end of September - with Belfast-born Mark, 36, taking fourth spot in his Nissan 350Z.

Thirty-seven year old Declan, from Dorset, was ninth in his Toyota Soarer GZ20 - one of only four of these rare models understood to be in the UK. Drifting is a highly skilled area of motorsport in which drivers break rear wheel traction and initiate a slide while accelerating forward around a fixed course, usually a tarmac racing circuit, at speeds of 80-110mph. Performance is judged on speed, angle of attack, execution and style, rather than who is first past the chequered flag.

"Professional drift drivers are required to use street legal tyres, and in view of Maxxis-sponsored driver Chris Forsberg's achievements in the 2007 Formula Drift Championship in the US, we were keen to see how the MA-Z1 would perform in a top drift series closer to home," says Maxxis International UK's managing director Derek McMartin.

"Our core focus in 2009 is to raise Maxxis brand awareness in four-wheel motorsport, so we are aiming to develop our association with the Europe's premier drift championship."

Michelin man Goes on the Buses to Save CO2

The Michelin Man will be on the buses for the next few months as the world's leading tyre manufacturer launches a unique bus-back advertising campaign for its new Energy Saver car tyres. The advertising campaign sees the Michelin Man take pride of place on the back of 53 buses operating within fleets across the UK, all of which are Michelin fleet customers. As one of the world's most recognisable and best loved marketing characters, he will be used to promote Michelin's latest low rolling resistance tyre, which is designed to reduce a car's fuel consumption and carbon emissions in comparison with regular tyres.

Peter Snelling, UK Head of Communications at Michelin Tyre plc explains: "As far as we are aware, this is a completely unique campaign, where the brand advertised is also being used on the medium - or vehicle - to communicate this important message. Using buses that are fitted with our latest Michelin tyres seemed a very good and logical approach. "Buses interact with our target audience like no other display format, so it just makes perfect sense to use them. Despite their positioning, I'm pleased to say that our new ads certainly don't look like the 'back end of a bus', and I'm confident they'll communicate our products' environmental credentials very effectively and will make the campaign a great success," he adds.

The new graphics were designed to use the recognisable face of the Michelin Man to effectively communicate the campaign's strong 'green' message.

Official New Lap Record for the Alzen Porsche on Hankook Tyres at the Nürburgring Nordschleife

During this year's Circuit-Racing Challenge Nürburgring, well known race driver Jürgen Alzen with his Hankook tyres-shod Alzen-Porsche Turbo sets a remarkable new lap record in the legendary Nordschleife (20,793 km), also known as the "Green Hell". At just 7:00 minutes straight, the team-owner and driving engineer of the team Hankook H&R-Spezialfedern managed to beat the current record set by his younger brother Uwe in 2003 by more than four seconds.

"I am very proud of this record, as it clearly reflects the power as well as the future potential of our total package", exclaimed a very satisfied Jürgen Alzen after crossing the finish line. "Special praise also goes to Hankook Tire who once again managed to do a sensational job. The degree of grip, stability and driving performance that working with Hankook for the past two years has brought about is simply sensational. Hankook tires always fit as if they were tailor made for every single lap."

Avon Tyres Extends Title Sponsorship of British GT

Avon Tyres has formalised a deal with British GT Championship organisers SRO, to continue its title sponsorship of the UK's premier sportscar series for an additional three years, until the end of 2011. The British tyre marque, owned and manufactured by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe, completed its existing three-year tenure as supplier and title sponsor of the championship at Donington Park in October "We have enjoyed the first three years of working with the British GT Championship," said Cooper Europe managing director, Julian Baldwin. "The mix of cars and their very different handling characteristics really tests our expertise, but so far our crew has risen to the challenge, and they will relish another three seasons of doing so with a field of such high-powered machinery."