Mission Motorsport choose Goodyear for Race of Remembrance challenge

Mission Motorsport choose Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport for Race of Remembrance challenge

• New Road-legal Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport to make racing debut

• BTCC winner, Tom Ingram, gets his first taste of Goodyear technology

• Mission Motorsport, the Forces’ Motorsport Charity, delivers a recovery sport program to inspire and enable those leaving the Forces

• Race of Remembrance raises awareness for those affected by military operations

Mission Motorsport, the charity that supports the rehabilitation and employment of former military personnel, has announced a partnership with Goodyear and Toyota to enter a star line up in the unique Race of Remembrance at Anglesey circuit.

The race is open to a wide range of production-based cars and the Mission Motorsport Toyota GT86 features a driver line up including Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship race winner Tom Ingram. 

Significantly, Matt Stringer, a beneficiary of the Mission Motorsport charity, is sharing driving duties with Tom Ingram. Matt was involved in an IED blast in Helmand Province in 2010, but with vocational training and assistance from Mission Motorsport he has battled back to fitness and work. Earlier this year Matt – a former 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment soldier – started his own vehicle wrapping business (‘Matt’s Wraps’) based in Cambridgeshire.

The Toyota GT86 is crewed by a team including veterans and service leavers who have come through the Charity’s Mission Automotive initiative and are now working for Toyota. To date, the Mission Automotive initiative, in partnership with the Royal Foundation, has already helped over 1700 service leavers into employment. 

The Mission Motorsport team has chosen to race on the latest Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport tyres throughout the weekend - whether conditions are dry or wet. These road legal tyres use technology derived from Goodyear’s FIA World Endurance Championship programme. 

The tyre features Dual Plus Technology with a U-shaped compound combination that gives the tyre specific power zones with different compounds to optimise dry and wet performance. The Toyota GT86 will be equipped with the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport in 235/40R18. 

James Cameron, CEO, Mission Motorsport stated: “In running a production sports car in a race that’s renowned for changeable weather, we wanted a tyre that could perform lap after lap irrespective of whether conditions were wet or dry. After looking at the technical specification of the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport it was clear that it offered the performance, durability and consistency needed for such a challenging endurance event.”

Kate Rock-Rees, Communication Manager, Goodyear added: “We are proud to support Mission Motorsport at such an important event. Goodyear has supported Armed Forces for more than a century and involved military charities in the US NASCAR programme. To support such a worthy UK based recovery and rehabilitation programme is a natural extension of this work.”

The UK’s biggest racing series, the British Touring Car Championship, switches to Goodyear tyres for 2020, and Ingram is looking forward to his first experience of working with the tyre company: “Mission Motorsport is an amazing organisation. Their work in helping return ex-service people to civilian life can’t be underestimated. I’m honoured to be part of the race and I’m pleased that both Toyota and Goodyear are supporting the charity team.”

The 12-hour Race of Remembrance hosts over 50 teams is taking place at the Anglesey Circuit in North Wales over the weekend of 9-10th November. Now in its sixth year, the event is the culmination of the Charity’s sporting year and raises awareness for the recovery and rehabilitation of those affected by military operations. The race is suspended at 11 am on Remembrance Sunday for a unique pitlane remembrance service, then restarted to its eventual climax at approximately 1500 on the same day.

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