Tyre News

First Pole Position for Hankook in the Le Mans Series
Cooper Tire helps "Rambling Rat" Highlight Plight of Street Kids
First Stop Free up the Cost of Fuel
Hats Off to Kind Hearted HiQ Franchisees
Jody Firth Clinches Avon Tyres British GT4 Championship
Unnecessary Tyre Damage Costs Fleets Dearly
Maxxis Kicks off New Football Sponsorship
Hole in One for Charity Fundraiser
Pressure Pays Dividends

First Pole Position for Hankook in the Le Mans Series

On August 31, the 40th anniversary of the legendary 1000 Kilometre race at the Nürburgring, the Hankook Team Farnbacher were able to start celebrating. Following some high positions and one place on the podium during the last season, pole position in the GT2 Class in the Le Mans Series was achieved by the Ferrari F 430 GT with the starting number 89, with its Hankook tyres.

Pierre Kaffer drove to pole position in the GT2 Class for the team made up of the tyre manufacturer Hankook Tire and Farnbacher Racing. At the race on Sunday, the team just missed another place on the winners' podium by finishing fourth.

Cooper Tire helps "Rambling Rat" Highlight Plight of Street Kids

Cooper Tire is supporting a charity expedition, which is travelling across the world to highlight the plight of children living in poverty. Dubbed the "Rambling Rat", Tim Dennis has travelled all the way across Europe, Asia and North America in a Toyota Land Cruiser equipped with Cooper's rugged Discoverer STT tyres, which have successfully taken him some 44,000 miles across the harshest terrains on Earth.

As well as testing Tim's endurance, plus that of his Land Cruiser and its tyres, the aim of the ongoing expedition is to provide education and awareness for the Street Kids International charity.

On his travels through developed countries such as Japan, Tim teaches children the importance of basic needs such as food, water and shelter, and the fact that many children elsewhere don't have access to these simple things. In undeveloped countries, he visits the Street Kids International projects, to raise awareness of the charity's positive work.

"This is an ongoing sustainable project, not just some quick little trip around the world," says Tim, who sold his house and business for the expedition. "At Street Kids, we believe that every young person is an opportunity, it's just the local resources that they're lacking. In Europe and America the problems are usually social based, whereas in Africa they're caused by war and famine or HIV and AIDS, but the problems are similar, and we try to bring attention to that."

Tim has been pleased with the way his Cooper Discoverer STTs have coped with the conditions. "They're amazing tyres. I'm from a farming and road hauling background so have a lot of experience in the area, and I know these are very, very strong tyres. They've travelled around 44,000 miles across terrain from frozen lakes and ice to desert, with and without studs, and they've held up fine."

The "Rambling Rat" Toyota Land Cruiser is now waiting in New York, with Tim planning to drive South through the USA and Mexico, then through South America to finish in Argentina. A second Rambling Rat expedition is also planned to cover Africa.

First Stop Free up the Cost of Fuel

Motorists have faced a barrage of bad news this year including increasing fuel tax, revised road tax brackets, and reduced access to credit as well as the endless misery of road works, traffic jams and bad drivers. So in an effort to bring a little sunshine into the lives of the Nation's drivers, the First Stop network of tyre dealerships has chosen to pay for a number of lucky drivers' fuel.

Lisa Chatfield of Stoke on Trent was the first prize winner of a year's supply of free fuel. The second entry to be drawn was Clive Moles of Lincolnshire, who has won enough fuel to keep him motoring for a month. Earlier in the year First Stop also surprised motorists at fuel station forecourts across the country by offering to pay for their tank of petrol.

Winner Lisa was delighted and commented: ""I had just been to replace two of my tyres when I entered the competition and was absolutely delighted to find out that I'd won. "I'm a busy mum and use my car a lot during the week, as well as getting out and about at the weekend. I had totally forgotten about entering this competition so it was a wonderful surprise to hear that I had won. Combined with the fact that my fiancé has just been made redundant from JCB this prize will be a great financial help."

Hats Off to Kind Hearted HiQ Franchisees

It's a case of 'hats off' to a pair of HiQ franchisees, who got in the pink for Breast Cancer Care and raised £1,500 for the charity at Snetterton racing circuit. Phil Cowell and Robert Brown were on hand for the latest round of British Touring Car Championship action on August 2 and spent the day raising funds for the charity.

The pair, who own six HiQ centres in the east of England under their P & R Tyres Ltd company, gave away specially made pink baseball caps in return for charitable donations and carried buckets at the track for the thousands of motorsport fans to give to. They already agreed to donate £2,500 direct to Breast Cancer Care in return for a day at the British Touring Car Championship in the first place, and are now looking forward to getting back to work at their Bury St. Edmunds headquarters and reflecting on a job well done.

Jody Firth Clinches Avon Tyres British GT4 Championship

A metal commodities trader from Wakefield has been crowned the 2009 Avon Tyres British GT4 champion, after clinching the prestigious title at Silverstone recently. Jody Firth, who races a 500bhp Ginetta G50 for Team WFR in the UK's premier sportscar championship, now has an unassailable lead in the GT4 class, leading his team-mate Nigel Moore by nine points with one round remaining. With the pair certain to share the car in the final round, Moore can only receive the same points as Firth and the gap will remain the same.

Firth won the recent two-hour race at Silverstone along with Moore, having already qualified on pole position in the GT4 class the day before. The final round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship will take place at Brands Hatch, Kent, on September 19/20.

Unnecessary Tyre Damage Costs Fleets Dearly

One in five tyres (20 per cent) fitted to vehicles operated by major leasing fleets are being replaced early, owing to tyre damage which can often be avoided. These statistics have been published by ATS Euromaster following a detailed review of the tyre replacement cycle across two of its major fleet customers, totalling more than 100,000 lease vehicles. The study revealed that the average remaining tread on tyres removed through damage is 4.8mm, leaving 2.8mm of tread left on the tyre and still enabling it to be changed ahead of the legal limit. With 1mm of tread equivalent to approximately 4,000 miles, these damaged tyres are only achieving 55 per cent of their potential life. Across a sample fleet of 25,000 vehicles, this damage is costing over £440,000 each year in wasted mileage potential.

Commenting on the findings, Steve Bury, Head of National Car at ATS Euromaster explains: "Just three causes of tyre damage account for a staggering 81 per cent of the tyres we replace prematurely. This includes punctures (31 per cent), sidewall damage (27 per cent) and drivers exceeding the 50mph / 50 mile limit on deflated run-flat tyres (22 per cent)."

"In many cases this damage could be avoided, and we are actively encouraging fleet managers to cascade this information back to their company's drivers, along with three simple steps to help reduce damage. It's a win-win situation for everyone," he adds, "as longer tyre life means reduced cost, downtime, hassle and fewer tyres being disposed of prematurely, which in turns benefits the environment."

In response to the findings, ATS Euromaster is actively working with customers to educate fleet managers in how to significantly reduce the potential for tyre damage. Amongst the advice are three top tips:

1. Choose where you park carefully to avoid the risk of punctures. Don't park near a skip, where sharp debris is often spilled and take care around industrial estates. Similarly, broken glass has a tendency to collect close to the kerb on busy residential streets, where road sweepers clean infrequently due to parked cars.

2. Be aware of the risk of kerbing your tyres when turning at a junction and leave a sufficient gap between the tyre and the kerb when parking. Kerbing causes premature wear to the sidewall at the tyre's weakest point.

3. If your car has run-flat tyres and the pressure monitor warning light illuminates, have the tyre checked immediately. If you keep your speed below 50 mph and seek professional advice within 50 miles, there is a chance the run-flat tyre can be repaired.

Other reasons highlighted by the study for tyres being replaced early included tyre damage making the casing uneconomical to repair (five per cent), irregular wear (three per cent), often through flat-spotting and misaligned steering, tread damage (two per cent) and blow-outs (two per cent).

Maxxis Kicks off New Football Sponsorship

Maxxis is continuing to increase its exposure to the tyre-buying public through football sponsorship, and having made key Barclays Premier League signings was eagerly awaiting the start of the 2009/10 season. After agreeing to extend its sponsorship of Liverpool FC until the end of the 2011/12 season, Maxxis has also renewed its arrangement with Aston Villa FC and signed a new deal with Sunderland AFC.

In addition to a pitchside LED advertising presence at Liverpool FC home fixtures, Maxxis will benefit from advertisements in the This is Anfield matchday programme and the weekly LFC Magazine. The brand will also feature heavily on Liverpool FC's own TV channel, LFC TV, and on www.liverpoolfc.tv, one of the UK's most popular football websites. Since its status as Official Partner means Maxxis is entitled to use Liverpool FC's marks, logo and imagery on items such as pens, T-shirts, mugs and the like, promotional spin offs are also planned.

For 2009/10 Maxxis has extended its contract with Aston Villa FC for a further year. Maxxis began its association with Aston Villa during the 2005/2006 season and as an Official Partner of the club is once again taking a 'full arc' perimeter advertising package and a VIP Executive hospitality box at Villa Park.

Maxxis has also teamed up with Sunderland AFC, giving the brand important exposure in the North East while it continues to build its profile in the Midlands and North West. The new season long deal with the Black Cats comprises advertising on the 99m LED perimeter board along the main touchline at the Stadium of Light plus two static corner advertising boards at pitch-level.

"Our investment in football this season not only provides important opportunities to generate brand awareness among the huge fan bases of three top flight clubs, but also gives us invaluable consumer exposure through the TV coverage of Barclays Premier League fixtures by the BBC, Sky and ESPN," says Maxxis UK's managing director Derek McMartin.

Hole in One for Charity Fundraiser

Pan Autos, part of the First Stop network of tyre dealerships, has raised over £1900.00 for local charity, Jumbulance, at its annual charity golf day. Over 30 clients and friends of the business took part in the tournament at Aldwickbury Park Golf Club.

The event saw teams and individuals playing the 18-hole course in order to be crowned top male, female or team on the day. The tournament was followed by a special gala-dinner with a prize giving ceremony and an auction. As part of the First Stop network, which is supported by sole tyre supplier to this year's F1 championship, Bridgestone, Pan Autos were able to auction a pair of tickets for an exclusive tour of the Red Bull F1 factory. The tickets went for a fantastic £260.

The event was the 14th annual golf day held by the business, which each year raises money for local charities. This year all the funds were donated to Jumbulance which provides a specially-equipped giant ambulance which is used by the charity to take sick and disabled people on accompanied holidays around Britain and Europe. The money raised will be going towards purchasing a second vehicle.

Pressure Pays Dividends

Lucky motorist Emma Lewin of Bristol has won the first prize of £1,000 in a national competition run by Bridgestone, simply by taking the time to have an essential vehicle safety check at her local garage Formula One Autocentre in St Phillips. The competition was part of Bridgestone's UK campaign to raise awareness about road safety and the effects that wrongly inflated tyres can pose for drivers. Motorists were invited to have their tyre pressures checked at 500 garages across the country, which are all part of the Bridgestone network, and enter a free draw to win a first prize of £1,000, a second prize of £750 and a third prize of £250.