“Goodyear wants the tire to be an even more powerful contributor to answering consumers’ specific mobility needs, said Mike Rytokoski, Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer, Goodyear Europe, “It was with that ambition that we set out to create a concept tire primed for the future of personalized and convenient electric mobility.”

The reCharge concept includes a number of innovative features that are built around three pillars:

Personalized

• At the core of the reCharge concept is a reloadable and biodegradable tread compound that can be recharged with individual capsules, radically simplifying the process of replacing your tires. Filled with a customized liquid compound, these capsules allow the tread to regenerate and the tire to adapt over time to climatic circumstances, road conditions, or simply how you want to travel. Thanks to artificial intelligence a driver profile would be created around which the liquid compound would be customized, generating a compound blend tailored to each individual.

Sustainable

• The compound itself would be made from a biological material and would be reinforced with fibres inspired by one of the toughest natural materials in the world - spider silk. This would make it both extremely durable and 100 percent biodegradable.

Hassle-Free

• In addition to radically simplifying the process of replacing your tires with rechargeable capsules, the tread would be supported by a light-weight, non-pneumatic frame and tall-and-narrow shape. This is a thin, robust low-maintenance construction that would eliminate the need for pressure maintenance or downtime related to punctures.

“The Goodyear reCharge is a concept tire without compromise, supporting personalized, sustainable and hassle-free electric mobility,” concluded Sebastien Fontaine, Lead Designer at the Goodyear Innovation Centre in Luxembourg.

Combining a traction level to meet the severe snow 3PMSF requirement while also delivering rolling resistance performance as an A-class tire is a significant achievement. Enabling both premium traction and premium fuel efficiency – a benefit from rolling resistance performance – helps represent an example of Goodyear’s successful role in future mobility solutions.

The project represented great teamwork and cross-functional collaboration between Goodyear’s technology teams in Luxembourg and Germany, leveraging the most recent tread pattern developments conducted in the replacement all-season lines, as well as new rubber compounding formulations. The Goodyear teams have been working with vehicle manufacturers on this technological breakthrough, with fitments planned for later this year on vehicles such as the Peugeot 2008/3008/5008, DS3 Crossback and DS7 Crossback.

Several additional Goodyear fitments for other original equipment manufacturers will follow this year.

“This project is a great example of anticipating the needs of the customer, demonstrating our technical superiority, and converting advanced technology into customer benefits,” said Xavier Fraipont, Goodyear’s vice president of EMEA Product Development.

Note: In European Tire Labeling, there are three categories: Fuel Efficiency; Wet Grip and Tire External Rolling Noise. In the Fuel Efficiency category, seven classes exist, ranging from G (least efficient) to A (most efficient).

When Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon drove to victory in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ford wasn’t the only American company making its mark on the world stage. The famous black GT40 Mark II was running on Goodyear tires – even if it had started the race on rubber from the company’s big rival in the so-called tire wars, Firestone.

“McLaren and Amon’s victory sealed a podium sweep for Goodyear and was our second straight triumph at Le Mans,” explains Mike Rytokoski, Vice-President, Chief Marketing Officer Europe for Goodyear. “Goodyear is particularly proud to have played such a key role in this historic event in motorsports. We’re glad to honor this heritage with a comprehensive association campaign with the Le Mans ‘66 film.”

The Film

Academy Award®-winners Matt Damon and Christian Bale star in Le Mans ‘66, the remarkable true story of the visionary American car designer Carroll Shelby (Damon) and the fearless British driver Ken Miles (Bale), who together battled the laws of physics and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.

The Race

The 1966 24 hours of Le Mans started in damp conditions and it quickly became apparent that they suited the Goodyears better than the Firestones. Two of the Shelby American racing team cars participating – the #1 of Ken Miles/Denny Hulme and the #3 of Dan Gurney/Jerry Grant – were having no issues with their Goodyear tires, but the Firestone-shod McLaren was losing chunks of tread on the Mulsanne straight at more than 210mph.

When he pitted to hand over to Amon, he sought out the Firestone representative and negotiated a switch to Goodyears.

As the end of the race rolled around the next day, the surviving #2, #1 and #5 Fords – the latter being the Holman & Moody car of Ronnie Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson – lined up for a staged finish. The manufactured dead-heat between the two Shelby machines continues to be debated to this day, but history records that McLaren and Amon were given the win based on starting further back and therefore having travelled a greater distance in the same time. But for the early switch to Goodyears, they wouldn’t even have been in contention.

Goodyear Racing

In subsequent years, Goodyear would amass a total of 14 wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and become a racing powerhouse with 368 Formula One Grand Prix wins - a record that stands unbeaten.

For the 2019-20 season, Goodyear has returned to international sports car racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship. In 2020, the company will race again at Le Mans in the LMP2 category.

“The story behind the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1966 perfectly captures Goodyear’s spirit of passion, performance and innovation”, said “Mike Rytokoski, Vice-President, Chief Marketing Officer Europe for Goodyear. “It’s with this same spirit that we decided earlier this year to become once again a tire supplier for the FIA World Endurance Championship. We are looking forward to be on the grid again in Le Mans next year.”

The setting for the biennial Land Rover Experience Tour is Kavango-Zambezi National Park, the second largest nature reserve in the world, which spans parts of the Southern-African countries Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Wrangler DuraTrac tires will equip the Land Rover Discovery – which has proven its flexibility and robustness in countless adventure missions around the globe over the last three decades. Participants can marvel at the untouched animal world, enjoy a taste of the local cuisines and visit Victoria Falls, the largest waterfall in the world.

Besides getting to know the countries, participants will also get to know the people, immerse themselves deeply in their cultures and tradition. They will experience aspects such as sustainability initiatives, as well as animal and nature conservation on site. Aspects that have convinced the WWF and the German development bank KfW to support the Kaza nature reserve.
 

The Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac is developed to cope with the toughest terrains, including deep sandy slopes, sandy tracks, thorny savannah bushes and overgrown gravel roads, all of which the participants will encounter during their adventures. For the off-road parts, drivers can benefit from Goodyear’s TractiveGroove Technology, which enhances traction on mud. The Wrangler DuraTrac tires are also designed to overcome curb-like heights, rapidly evacuate gravel, dirt and mud and automatically improve the vehicle’s traction and lateral stability, while reducing road noise.
 

“We are thrilled to provide our Wrangler DuraTrac tires for the Land Rover Experience Tour”, said Mike Rytokoski, Chief Marketing Officer Europe at Goodyear. “It shows once more that when Land Rover wants to push their vehicles to the limit, they use Goodyear tires.”
 

Christian Löer, Marketing & PR Director from Jaguar Land Rover Germany: “Our relationship with Goodyear spans many decades, back when their tires were fitted to the first Range Rover. It continues today with the development of next-generation tires for our newest vehicles such as the new Land Rover Defender. It goes without saying that we are excited to have Goodyear equip our Land Rover Discovery vehicles on this tour.”

The Dunlop Sport Classic acknowledges like no other vintage tire that classic vehicles deserve modern technologies when it comes to handling and braking performance while maintaining that old-school look and feel. By winning the Auto Bild Klassik vintage tire test for the second consecutive year, Dunlop shows that it knows exactly how to respond to those consumer needs.
 

Auto Bild Klassik recognized the Dunlop Sport Classic for its precise steering, very good aquaplaning performance, short braking distance on a wet surface and overall its harmonic driving experience.
 

The Dunlop Sport Classic stood out in multiple wet tests. When driving on Dunlop, the car - an Austin Healy 3000 - only started aquaplaning at a speed of 92,5 km/h, winning this wet grip test by a landslide. The average speed the other seven tires could maintain before aquaplaning was 80,1 km/h. The Dunlop tires also propelled the Austin to the shortest lap time on a wet track thanks to its optimal grip in wet conditions.
 

Lastly, the Dunlop Sport Classic recorded the third best performance in both wet braking when driving 100 km/h – 51,8 meters on a test average of 57 meters – and wet handling: bolstering the Austin Healy 3000 to an average speed of 68,9 km/h compared to a test average of 65,8 km/h. With an average speed of 82km/h on a dry Austrian Wachauring track, the Dunlop Sport Classic topped all other tires in the dry handling test.
 

Piotr Nagalski, Director Marketing Consumer Europe: "We are delighted to see that the Dunlop Sport Classic is once again best in class. This second consecutive win shows that Dunlop is the reigning champion when it comes to vintage tires."
 

[1] Auto Bild Klassik (GER) – Issue 8/2019 – July 19, 2019

[2] Auto Bild Klassik (GER) - Summer 2019 – tire size 185/80R15 – Dunlop Sport Classic 93W,Michelin XVS 93V, Vredestein Sprint Classic 91V, Pirelli Cinturato CA67 91V,Avon Radial Steel 93V, Blockley Radial 91V, Retro RC 001 93H, Billigreifen with no name

One pair of tires for Goodyear, one giant leap for the future of mobility: almost 50 years ago, Goodyear’s non-pneumatic XLTs were the first to ever leave a tire track on the moon. The 1950s and 60s were a period of intense innovation for Goodyear as it actively worked with pioneers to drive change and discovery. To this day, Goodyear has never seized reinventing both itself and mobility by creating and presenting state-of-the-art tires.

Since 1898 – back when its first products included carriage tires and horseshoe pads –Goodyear has been a company of technology driven firsts that partners with pioneers to shape the future of mobility. In 1969, that partner was NASA as Goodyear was chosen to create with non-pneumatic tires to equip a cart that astronauts could use to transport rock samples two years later.

The Modularized Equipment Transporter (MET), a two-wheeled unpowered cart used to carry equipment and samples collected by the astronauts on Apollo 14. The MET was about 75 kg when loaded, and was pulled at speeds up to 4 km/hr. Its wheels were made of smooth rubber and were supported by nitrogen filled inner-tubes. To make it easier to pull the cart through soft lunar soil and over rocks, the MET wheels were designed to be fairly compliant.

It’s a milestone that highlighted the extraordinary period of intense innovation for Goodyear. In 1965, its tires equipped Craig Breedlove’s jet-powered car, the Spirit of America, on its way to a new land speed record. In 1977, Goodyear changed the perception of consumers by offering them the choice to keep the same set of tires all year round with the iconic Tiempo: the world’s first all-season tire.

Goodyear’s innovations have been redefining tire performance, enriching people’s driving experience and pushing mobility boundaries for over 120 years. Goodyear proves it still is indispensable in today’s changing FACE of mobility – with a focus on Fleets, Autonomous, Connected and Electric vehicles – by annually showcasing futuristic concept tires like the Eagle 360, Oxygene and AERO at the Geneva International Motor Show.

- FIA World Endurance Cup for GT drivers won by Danish duo Marco Sørensen and Nicki Thiim, Aston Martin - Dunlop

In the first season working with Dunlop, Aston Martin Racing has claimed two titles at the 6 Hours of Bahrain FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season finale. Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen have won the FIA World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers and the team has won the FIA World Endurance Trophy for GTE Pro Teams.

Class by class:

LMGTE
Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen won the final race of the season in the #95 Aston Martin Racing Vantage, taking the total Dunlop/Aston Martin wins to five for the year. The all-Danish #95 squad took the lead from the mid-point of the race, with the Aston Martin GTE Pro Vantage duo leading all but 26 laps of the 174 lap race. The total tally of Aston Martin/Dunlop podiums reached nine for the first year of the partnership.

LMP1 Private Teams
Rebellion Racing won its last race in the LMP1 privateer category, taking victory with a four-lap margin. The team has won eight of the nine races in 2016, its first year with Dunlop tyres.

LMP2
G-Drive Racing made an amazing recovery from the back of the grid, after a technical issue during qualifying, to win the race, their third consecutive win in the championship. From 31st, the team quickly gained positions by passing the GT cars to lie sixth in LMP2 after the first hour of racing. After four hours the trio of René Rast, Alex Brundle and Roman Rusinov were in third. An epic battle ensued for second and with Rast in charge of the final stint taking the lead with eleven laps remaining.

Xavier Fraipont, Managing Director, Dunlop Motorsport EMEA commented on the collaborative partnership:

‘To win both the Drivers' and Teams' titles in the first year of our partnership with Aston Martin Racing is a proud achievement. After a long period of success in the prototype category, we chose to take on the challenge of a FIA World Endurance GTE Partnership this year.

With Aston Martin Racing, we have built a very open and constructive relationship. This has been key to the wins in the FIA World Endurance Championship, which reflects a tremendous team effort by both companies. We will only have a short time to celebrate, as we will continue our testing programme for 2017 which had already started in September .We are developing new technologies for both LMP and GT with an intensive schedule of evaluation until the start of the 2017 ELMS, VLN and WEC seasons’ 

The partnership really began to score major successes in the second half of the year. A win in Mexico for the #97 car was followed by two wins for the #95 car of Sørensen and Thiim in America and Bahrain. In addition to these three victories in the Pro class, Dunlop and Aston Martin also scored two wins together in the LMGTE-Am category at Spa and Nurburgring. These successes, on five of the nine FIA World Endurance circuits have given Dunlop plenty of data and knowledge to prepare for 2017.

- Includes technologies developed in FIM Endurance World Championship success and cascaded from the D212 GP Pro

- Tyre secures victory in French Supersport racing debut

Dunlop has announced that the highly-regarded GP Racer D211 road legal track tyre will be replaced with an all-new product in early 2017, having signed off the new tyre after an extreme validation and testing programme – including some of the toughest races in the world! Dunlop’s key objective was to develop a tyre with exhilarating handling and this validation process confirms the achievement of this aim.

Not content with just doing testing on secret proving grounds, Dunlop has given the new GP Racer D212 a very public test of its abilities.

Prototype tyres were used during the 12 hours of Portimao and the 24 hours of Barcelona, and final spec pre-production treaded tyres were used for the Bol d’Or in 2016, before a final public test of the first production-spec GP Racer D212 in the final round of the French Superbike Championship – where Lucas Mahias rode the GMT94 Yamaha to victory in both Supersport races.

Dunlop’s Technology Director, Sebastien Montet, explained the rationale for such public testing: “We had conducted thousands of miles of track and road testing in addition to many hours of simulations. But there is nothing quite like a real race situation to gauge the performance, durability and consistency of a new tyre in the heat of intense competition. We have proven many of the GP Racer D212’s new technological features in our race tyres, and towards the end of the validation process we chose to fit the full final product to championship contending bikes” 

The GP Racer D212 features several race proven technologies including:

• A new Multi-Tread compound designed to improve durability, warm-up time and ultimate grip. 
• The revolutionary NTEC system, which allows pressure tuning for optimum road or track performance
• The tyre also has a newly developed front and rear tyre profile to increase agility and rider confidence.

These technologies include learnings from Dunlop’s professional race tyre, the GP Pro D212, a tyre that Michael Dunlop relied on to take his 2013 Isle of Man TT class lap record of 131.2mph - faster than he achieved on a slick-shod superbike.

Dunlop chose to do the final product validation in Endurance racing because of the variety of circuits used in this series of races.

Montmelo was chosen to develop the endurance compound due to the long curves and hot conditions in the Barcelona 24h race being a tough test of the tyre’s enduring performance.

The Bol d’Or was a demanding test of high speed braking and stability after the high speed Mistral straight. The 12h of Portimao is a notoriously physical event due to the directional and elevational changes. Here, the new front profile provided easier handling than its predecessor.

The GP Racer D212 goes on sale across Europe in January 2017.

 The range consists of 1 front and 4 rear sizes.

Signatech Alpine are 2016 FIA World Endurance (WEC) LMP2 champions. The French team finished the 6 Hours of Shanghai in fourth place, which gave enough of a points advantage for the team to claim the title at the penultimate round. The race was won by G-Drive Racing, their second consecutive victory. The ByKolles CLM claimed its first win of 2016 in the LMP1 Privateer class.

LMP2

G-Drive Racing took their second consecutive win after taking the top spot in Japan last month. Will Stevens, Alex Brundle and Roman Rusinov led 144 of the 180 laps in their Oreca followed by the #30 Extreme Speed Motorsports’ Ligier. The biggest LMP2 battle was for third place between the two title contenders. RGR Sport held their slim margin for the last hour of the race, crossing the line in the Ligier just 0.509 seconds before Signatech’s Alpine. Signatech’s line-up of Nicolas Lapierre, Gustavo Menezes and Stéphane Richelmi have claimed the WEC title with their consistent performance, having won four races, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, and finishing all of the seven races to date no lower than fourth. The team previously won the European Le Mans Series on Dunlop tyres in 2014.

LMGTE

Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen finished fourth in the #95 Aston Martin Racing Vantage to extend their lead in the World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers by a further two points. The sister #97 car failed to score after being involved in an incident at the start of the race.

LMP1 Private Teams

The CLM of ByKolles Racing drove a solid race, capitalising on Rebellion Racing’s issue that necessitated a visit to the pits for over eight minutes. The ByKolles trio of Oliver Webb, Simon Trummer and Pierre Kaffer opted for the medium tyre compound for the ultra low-grip track.

Mike McGregor, Dunlop Manager Testing & Track Support

“Huge congratulations to Signatech Alpine – it’s their second major championship with us and they have driven the perfect endurance season. Scoring points consistently is key and they’ve done just that. Congratulations to G-Drive for another win too. The LMP2 cars ran on both medium and medium-plus compounds which worked well on the very low-grip surface here at Shanghai. Alex Lynn set another fastest lap in the #44 Manor Racing Oreca and it was good to see ESM back on the podium. Aston Martin Racing were happy with their tyre choice having opted for the medium compound. It was a great shame that the #97 car was in the wrong place at the wrong time so couldn’t increase their points too."

Next Race: 6 Hours of Bahrain, 19th November 14.00 local time

Bahrain International circuit in the UAE is very abrasive given its location on desert sands. Temperatures can also be high. But it is the loading that makes Bahrain particularly unusual with longitudinal loading being more prevalent than the usual lateral loading putting more stress through the tyres under braking.

Dunlop WEC 2016 Tyres

LMP1 – Confidential tyre range – full range for all conditions
• Dunlop’s return to LMP1 competition for the first time since 2012
• Tyres permitted per 6 hour event: 10 sets plus two single tyres

LMP2 – Set specification (soft, medium, medium-plus, intermediate, wet)
• Open tyre competition
• Two out of three dry specifications nominated per event
• Tyres permitted per 6 hour event: 7 sets plus two single tyres

LMGTE Pro – Confidential tyre range – full range for all conditions
• Bespoke product for Aston Martin Racing
• Tyres permitted per 6 hour event: 10 sets plus two single tyres

The new RoadSmart III tyres have boasted some impressive stats since their launch, in particular an outstanding 82%** better front tyre mileage than the competitor average.

Being such a great touring tyre, Dunlop launched a community competition and by using #DunlopRoadtrip riders were given the opportunity to share videos and images of their ‘Ultimate Road Trip’ during the summer. Three winners were chosen by John McGuinness each month to receive a brand new test set of Road Smart III tyres , perfect for long rides thanks to their ground-breaking tread pattern which has been designed for long lasting performance.

And, the campaign proved just as popular as the tyre, with European riders roadtripping around 33 countries accross three continents, capturing a stunning range of imagery from iconic locations such as Rome, Finland, Isle of Man, right through to India and Canada.

Over the summer, the campaign crowned 12 lucky winners, who all received new sets of tyres, giving the riders effortless steering, precise handling and stability without compromise.

John McGuinness said of the campaign ‘Well done to all those who took part in this fantastic #DunlopRoadTrip campaign, picking the testers was a really tough choice. It’s been incredible to see such enthusiam for this tyre, replicated in the love of road trips on Facebook and Twitter. To see so many people going on incredible trips with their bikes creating all sorts of stories is amazing. Having the option to share those trips with the added benefit of winning some top quality tyres to create even more memories is even better.’

James Bailey – Communications Director at Dunlop Motorsport commented, ‘This has been a terrific campaign and we’re delighted with the reaction of so many keen riders. It’s great to see the enthusiam they get from riding and all the different places being explored. We wanted to celebrate the launch of the RoadSmart III tyre with something that would bring the riding community together and this campaign with the help of John McGuinness has done just that.’

The innovative new RoadSmart III continued to produce impressive stats in independent Motorrad testing* including 10.3% better performance in the dry and 4.4% better performance in the wet. The RoadSmart III features a revolutionary interconnecting groove tread to offer enhanced wet performance along with a nano-technology compound delivering improved mileage. A new carcass and front profile means reduced warm up time for cold morning starts and an innovative tread delivers more even wear across the life of the tyre.*

To see some of the spectacular locations visted by riders on their roadtrips this summer, watch this video:

https://www.facebook.com/DunlopMoto/videos/1142489595828701/​​

-ends-

**Compared to average performance of 4 leading competitor products in Sport Touring Radial segment (Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT, Bridgestone T30 Evo, Pirelli Angel GT and Metzeler Roadtec Z8 MO). Tested by Motorrad Test Center in January 2016 by order of Goodyear Dunlop. Tyre size Front 120/70ZR17 front and rear 180/55ZR17 rear. Test Bike: Yamaha FJR 1300A; Testing took place on test track at Goodyear Dunlop's Mireval Proving Ground, France

**Calculated against the German legal limit of 1.6mm minimum tread depth. Compared to average performance of 3 leading competitor products in Sport Touring Radial segment (Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT, Bridgestone T30 Evo, Pirelli Angel GT). Tested by Motorrad Test Center in November 2015 by order of Goodyear Dunlop. Tyre size Front 120/70ZR17 and rear 180/55ZR17 rear. Test Bike: Yamaha FJR 1300A; road testing took place on mixed surface roads around Almeria, Spain

For more information on Dunlop Europe, visit www.dunlop.eu

Follow us on Twitter @DunlopMoto and Facebook DunlopMoto.

For editorial equiries contact Matt Williams:

Email: DunlopGroup@speedcomms.com 

Tel: 0044 207 842 3200

Goodyear and ThinkYoung announce today that Artur Ząbczyk, a student at Poland’s Silesian University of Technology, has won their first ThinkGoodMobility Challenge. Ząbczyk’s Management and Recovery System (MaRS) is an innovative combination that recycles energy from cars, with a real-time data traffic network to minimize travel time and costs for everybody.

Imagine a smart system that can recycle all forms of energy (heat, kinetic and energy of impact) produced by the vehicle to set it ‘sailing’ (e.g. idle mode) in traffic. On top, MaRS complements the energy recovery with a smart information network including all cars on the road, contributing real-time data about velocity, accidents, and traffic signals. The system further optimizes traffic flow and the energy recovery of the cars.

Ząbczyk, 23, said: “I’m thrilled to have won the first ThinkGoodMobility Challenge. It gives my generation the chance to share smart and sustainable ideas on how to address our future mobility needs with a positive impact on the environment and society.”

“Young people will lead the way to address new societal challenges and their future needs are at the core of our innovation thinking.” Carlos Cipollitti, general director of the Goodyear Innovation Center in Luxembourg and member of the jury adds. “Artur’s proposal stood out for its sophistication and potential for implementation. Using existing technology, he created a unified system to significantly improve efficiency for both the driver and the environment. MaRS could transform inner city travel in just a few years, radically reducing emissions and costs as well as improving our quality of life.”

“I really enjoyed being part of the challenge. My most important learning as an engineer is that technology and a solid business plan must go hand in hand. If you want to convince potential partners or users, you need to take them on a journey. ” concludes Ząbczyk.

Ząbczyk’s entry was selected as the winner from 73 submissions across Europe by a jury composed of professors from Europe’s top universities, mobility innovators and industry experts. “It was great to see such a high degree of enthusiasm and innovation. The jury had quite a challenging job as all TOP 3 ideas had merit. In fact, combining these three concepts, if done successfully, could help to revolutionize  mobility over the next decade,” explains Jeremy White, Product Editor of WIRED and member of the jury.

Second place went to Jacopo Runchi from Italy with a cool 2-4 wheel modular vehicle and finishing third was Siddartha Khastgir from the UK , who developed an area-wide smart zone and credit system, rewarding travelers for making smart mobility choices. The Challenge is related to Goodyear’s research and innovation in the field of future transport and is part of its broader ThinkGoodMobility platform.

- END  -

Note to the editor

• All TOP 20 ThinkGoodMobility Challenge ideas are avaiable on the Thinkgoodmobility website​
• Carlos Cipollitti, general director of the Goodyear Innovation Center in Luxembourg and member of the ThinkGoodMobility Challenge is available for interviews.

The ThinkGoodMobility Challenge, organised by Goodyear in collaboration with ThinkYoung asks Millennials for innovative ideas to revolutionize future mobility and address challenges such as congestion, interconnectivity, sustainability and road safety towards 2025.  

The ThinkGoodMoblity challenge ran from October 15, 2015 till March 30, 2016.  

The jury consisted of:
Prof. Paul Jennings – Warwick University, UK
Prof. Thomas Engel – Luxembourg University
Jeremy White – Wired Magazine UK
Laurianne Krid – FIA
Camille Feyder – Delphi
Andrea Gerosa – ThinkYoung
Carlos Cipollitti – Goodyear Innovation Center Luxembourg

About ThinkGoodMobility
ThinkGoodMobility is a content and knowledge platform empowered by Goodyear on smart, safe and sustainable mobility. 

For more information:

Thinkgoodmobility research​
LinkedIn ThinkGoodMobility group​

About ThinkYoung
ThinkYoung is the first think tank that focuses on young people. It was founded in 2007 and has expanded to have offices in Brussels, Geneva and Hong Kong.
ThinkYoung carries out research, surveys, documentary films and policy proposals focusing on five fields of action: entrepreneurship, education, EU-Asia relations, EU enlargement, and environment. // www.thinkyoung.eu​

#ForeverForward 2016

Heading into the final round it’s increasingly close at the top of the Dunlop ForeverForward tables with Moto3 racer Fabio Di Giannantonio holding a seven point lead over joint second placed fellow lightweight class riders Lorenzo Petrarca and Fabio Spiranelli. Top of the Moto2 runners is Isaac Vinales. Biggest movers across the last two rounds were Marcos Ramirez, who gained 21 places in Sepang and 22 places in Australia, matching the performance of Fabio Quartararo.
 

#ForeverForward after 17 rounds:

Fabio Di Giannantonio (Moto3)         109
Lorenzo Petrarca (Moto3)                 102
Fabio Spiranelli (Moto3)                    102
Maria Herrera (Moto3)                       97
Isaac Viñales (Moto2)                        96
Xavi Vierge (Moto2)                          95

October Recap – Twin Ring Motegi, Phillip Island and Sepang

Andrea Migno took his first ever Moto3 pole in round 15 at Motegi, after home hero Hiroki Ono was penalised three places for slow sector speeds. A classic Moto3 race saw Enea Bastianini record his second win by just 0.017sec ahead of Binder. In Moto2 Zarco smashed the record to take his fifth career pole. Thomas Luthi took his third race win after Alex Rins and Sam Lowes crashed out, ahead of Zarco who claimed his fastest lap on the penultimate tour, just 0.1 seconds off the lap record.

Phillip Island proved once again to be the most challenging race of the season, with changeable conditions across the weekend. Tyre performance across Moto2 saw very consistent lap times with just a 0.1 second drop from start to finish of the race. Thomas Luthi recorded his fourth win, from his third pole spot, to move into second in the championship. He was joined on the podium for the first time by Sandro Cortese. In Moto3 changing conditions across qualifying saw the riders contend with various tyre changes throughout the session, and resulted in a fifth pole spot for Binder. He made good use of his advantage to secure his seventh race victory with Aron Canet recording his first podium from 23rd on the grid.

The final flyaway round of the season at the newly resurfaced Sepang caused no problems for the Dunlop engineers, despite once again changeable weather conditions. Zarco continued his fine form to secure his sixth pole position in the wet, and carried that through into the wet race, with win number six securing the first back-to-back titles in Moto2. Rain played its part in Moto3 qualifying too, with Binder topping the times for the sixth time this year. Francesco Bagnaia took a dominant race victory, his second of the year, to move him into third in the standings. Joining him for the first time on the podium was Jakub Kornfeil, from 15th on the grid.
 

Round 18: Valencia, Spain – 13 November 2016

The Comunitat Valenciana - Ricardo Tormo track features a stadium style grandstand and allows all parts of the circuit to be seen

Valencia Track Facts:

Length: 4km
Left Turns: 9
Right Turns: 5
Energy level: Mid
Left:right bias: 65% / 35%

Valencia Tyre Allocation:

Moto2

Front: Soft '1'(black on yellow) / Medium '2' (black on silver)

Rear: Hard ‘3’ (yellow on black) / Hard ’4’ (white on black)

Moto3

Front: Soft (black on yellow) / Medium (black on silver)

Rear: Soft ‘S1’ (black on yellow) / Medium 'M1' (black on silver)

More information at Dunlop.eu

Follow @DunlopMoto on Twitter for updates on the partnership

G-Drive Racing crowned European Le Mans Series Champions

Beechdean Aston Martin Racing takes GTE title in ELMS debut year

Another unpredictable European Le Mans Series (ELMS) finale saw LMP2 and LM GTE class titles being battled for and claimed by the underdogs. Estoril hosted the sixth and final four-hour race of 2016 and drama began in the second hour when respective championship leaders Thiriet by TDS Racing and JMW Motorsport were hindered by electrical and gearbox issues respectively. It fell to G-Drive Racing and the Beechdean Aston Martin Racing cars to score enough points to move to the top of the table when the flag dropped for the final time this year, after both front-runners succumbed to their problems. Conditions were cool and teams unanimously chose to race on Dunlop’s medium option.

LMP2

Battling began from the start with the Jota-run G-Drive Racing Gibson-Nissan, in its final race before retirement, taking the lead in the hands of Giedo van der Garde ahead of the Dragonspeed Oreca. The Gibson led all but 30 laps of the 145. Thiriet by TDS Racing, strong championship contenders and favourites for the championship hit problems before the race mid-point when an electrical issue effectively ended their title hopes, their two points for ninth place not enough to combat G-Drive’s 25 point win, a role reversal of 2015 fortunes when the Jota squad started the race as championship favourites but lost out. Dragonspeed was a force to be reckoned, exchanging positions with Krohn Racing and the AF Corse run BR01, leading 29 laps and taking second place, their fourth podium of the year. The BR01 finished in third, followed by the Krohn Racing Ligier, to put four different manufacturers, all on Dunlop tyres, as the top four across the line.

Dunlop has had a strong year in the open-tyre competition LMP2 category:

5 out of 6 pole positions
5 out of 6 fastest race laps
6 out of 6 wins
18 out of 18 podium positions
597 out of 674 laps led

LMGTE

JMW Motorsport (Ferrari 458 Italia) had taken three wins and led over 350 laps and headed to Estoril with a significant points advantage and only one championship rival. The team’s second-hour gearbox issue led to the team’s retirement from the race and it was then down to the #99 Beechdean Aston Martin to win the race for the title. Andrew Howard’s squad did just that, leading all but a handful of laps, with the Vantage crossing the line a full lap ahead of the AT Racing Ferrari. The Aston Martin team has proved to be a consistent points scorer, including taking two pole positions and two wins.

Mike McGregor, Dunlop Manager Testing & Track Support

“Firstly commiserations to JMW and TDS – it would have been nicer to decide the fight on track instead of in the garages but unfortunately that’s endurance racing. Massive congratulations to G-Drive, Jota, Sam Hignett and Tim Holloway for the 2016 ELMS title. We have a long relationship with the team and with both the Gibson chassis’ and Tim’s retirements it means a lot. Until last year the team’s Dunlop engineer was Tim Gibson who died last November, so Tim deserves a mention and the win makes this a special title for the Dunlop team. It’s also brilliant to have a title for Beechdean in their first year in the championship – we’re very pleased for Andrew Howard and the rest of the team who have contributed to fantastic GTE racing again this year.”

Dunlop European Le Mans Series 2016 Tyres

LMP2 – Set specification (soft, medium, medium-plus, intermediate, wet)

• Open tyre competition
• Two out of three dry specifications nominated per event
• Tyres permitted per 4 hour event: 5 sets plus two single tyres
The LMP2 range is the same new range that features in WEC. The different conditions of Europe, generally cooler, combined with the improved operating windows, will tend to favour the soft and medium options in ELMS.

LMGTE – All-Dunlop class (medium, medium-plus, intermediate, wet)
• Controlled/single brand tyres for all three manufacturers represented
• Tyres permitted per 4 hour event: unlimited
• Intermediate tyre introduced for 2016

Drive longer on the same set of tires
To offer a higher mileage , the EfficientGrip Cargo makes use of two innovations. The introduction of a new silica tread compound increases the tire’s wear resistance and enhances grip in wet conditions. The re-designed tread pattern optimizes stiffness of the tire and distributes pressure more evenly in order to provide more rubber on the road. Thanks to these additions, the tire may allow fleets to drive up to 10,000km further.

Save more fuel
By using a stiffer base-compound and creating a cool cushion layer, the tire generates less heat compared to its predecessor, which results in an 18%-lower rolling resistance. The reduced temperatures and optimized construction improves rolling resistance by up to 18% in comparison to its predecessor .

Ahead of needs
Martijn de Jonge, Brand Director Consumer PBU EMEA: “The new EfficientGrip Cargo provides what light truck fleet needs most: a cost-effective tire that lasts longer. Spending most of their time on the road a lot, light truck drivers value high mileage. Also, considering the length of their journeys, fuel efficiency is essential to meet their economic and environmental requirements.”
The EfficientGrip Cargo is already fully compliant with the EU regulations coming into force in November 2018, with regards to tire labelling and in particular rolling sound emissions, rolling resistance and adhesion on wet surfaces.

28 sizes will be available by May 2017, covering then 82% of the market.

Marcotran is a Spanish based international freight company. Its pan-European fleet comprises about 700 trucks and 1,200 trailers, with routes varying from mundane regional runs to the longest between Spain to Moscow. The fleet currently runs mainly Goodyear’s low rolling resistance FUELMAX truck tires.  However Marcotran was keen to discover the difference that using Goodyear’s mileage-optimized KMAX tires would make. The challenge was to compare the savings in fuel with those in tire costs in terms of mileage. The results were very revealing and clearly showed both Goodyear ranges help reducing the Total Cost of Ownership.

Estimated mileage for the KMAX tires ranged between 240.000 kms for the drive tires and 450.000 kms for the trailer tires and for the FUELMAX tires it was between 220.000 kms for the drive tires and 350.000 kms for the trailer tires. This meant that the possible savings for KMAX tires in relation to mileage was €287.70 per year per vehicle compared with the FUELMAX tire combination[2].

Fuel consumption with the FUELMAX tires was 30.38 liters/100km and 31.58 for the KMAX combination, representing an annual saving in fuel cost of €1,252 with FUELMAX tires compared to KMAX[3].   This showed the comparative savings in terms of mileage that the KMAX tires offered and the fuel savings thanks to the FUELMAX tires.

The conclusion was that by using FUELMAX on the routes selected by Marcotran, the company could save a total of €964 per vehicle per year[4]. However the impressive high mileage that the KMAX tires gave, showed that in applications where mileage is the main performance criteria this tire could be a preferred choice.

The tests run by Marcotran underline not only the fuel savings that FUELMAX tires offer but also the high mileage that KMAX tires give while still saving fuel. These show that FUELMAX and KMAX tires significantly contribute to reducing Total Cost of Ownership to fleets.

About Goodyear

Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs approximately 66,000 people and manufactures its products in 49 facilities in 22 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry.

Goodyear Dunlop Europe’s range of tires for commercial vehicles, buses and coaches includes more than 400 different tires covering in excess of 55 sizes. Many of the world's leading commercial vehicle manufacturers fit tires from Goodyear as standard, including DAF, Iveco, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Renault Trucks, Scania and Volvo Trucks. Goodyear also supplies tires to all major trailer manufacturers. With FleetFirst, which includes the TruckForce service network, ServiceLine24h roadside assistance, FleetOnlineSolutions (an internet-based fleet management system) and Goodyear retreading services, Goodyear provides one of the broadest ranges of fleet-efficiency services in the industry.

For more information on Goodyear and its products, visit http://www.truck.goodyear.eu​​.

[1] Based on internal tests by Marcotran.

[2] The calculations made were based on an annual mileage of 150,000 kms, a minimum tread depth of 1.6 mm and a fuel price of €0.70 per liter (VAT not included).

[3] Fuel savings based on Marcotrans findings.

[4] Calculation based on 150.000 kms mileage per year.

The Goodyear RM-4B+ range features 170-level tread depth and optimal tread zone stiffness for excellent wear performance. The innovative CycleMax tread rubber compound ensures cool running and is enhanced by tread lug blading for additional heat resistance. Heat resistance is also a benefit of the centreline channel, which gives added lateral traction. Other tread features include interlocking blading for high stability and angled main grooves for forward and lateral traction. Particularly important for severe operating conditions are the extra thick sidewalls, which provide excellent protection against friction and impact.

“Our new RM-4B+ OTR tires feature our latest technologies in materials, design, construction and manufacturing. Thanks to this they provide high performance in all areas resulting in a high number of operating hours and therefore reduced costs per hour to our customers,” said Octavian Velcan, Managing Director OTR tires Goodyear Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The now available comprehensive Goodyear RM-4B+ OTR range for rigid dump trucks comprises the following sizes:

18.00R33 – NEW

21.00R35 – NEW

24.00R35 – NEW

40.00R57

46/90R57

53/80R63 – NEW

The tires are all tubeless radials with the 18.00R33 size having a *** rating and a load capacity of up to 12.150 kg. The 21.00R35, 24.00R35, 40.00R57 and 46/90R37 tires are all ** rated, with maximum load capacities ranging from 14,500 to 63,000 kg.

About Goodyear

Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs approximately 66,000 people and manufactures its products in 49 facilities in 22 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry.

For more information on Goodyear and its products, visit http://www.goodyear.com​​.

The FIM Moto2™ and Moto3™ World Championships leave Europe to embark on three fly-away events in Japan, Australia and Malaysia. The Motegi track in Japan on 16 October is traditionally easier on rear tyres than many other tracks in the dry, it’s twisty nature making more demands on the fronts due to hard braking. Very high energy levels for the Philip Island race means Dunlop engineers have elected to allocate the same special hard compound tyres used successfully for Moto2 in 2015. Usually the Sepang round would see a return to the softer end of the Dunlop range, however due to the resurfacing done in February, the engineers have elected to allocate Dunlop’s harder compound for Malaysia too, where tropical storms and potential 50 degree track temperatures can also play their part.

September Recap –  Silverstone, Misano and MotorLand Aragon

Round 12 took place at Silverstone and amid a wet qualifying session it was Sam Lowes who kept his Moto2 title hopes alive by securing his third pole of the season, with Francesco Bagnaia taking his first of the year in Moto3. In cool raceday conditions, Thomas Luthi won his second Moto2 race of 2016, after a controversial collision between Johann Zarco & Lowes which resulted in a 30 second penalty for the former. In Moto3 Brad Binder took his fourth win to extend his championship lead, while Bo Bendsneyder scored his first Moto3 podium finish.

The following weekend the teams moved to Misano for round 13 where an incredibly close-fought Moto3 qualifying, where one second separated the top 18, saw Brad Binder make the best of his soft rears to break the pole record and record his fourth top spot of the season. Taking his fifth win of the year, Binder also shaved six seconds off the overall race time. The battle for Moto2 saw Zarco claim his fourth pole of 2016, his medium compounds having a definite advantage and putting him top of a battle in which 17 riders were covered by a second. Lorenzo Baldassarri recorded his first Moto2 win, with Alex Rins’ second place cutting Zarco’s championship lead to just three points.

Another close qualifying in round 14 at MotorLand Aragon saw one second separate the top 18 Moto3 riders, and Enea Bastianini claim his third pole of the year ahead of Jorge Navarro. While Navarro went on to win, the race also saw Brad Binder claim the Moto3 crown with still four rounds remaining. In Moto2 Sam Lowes claimed his fifth pole of the year topping the first of 14 riders covered by one second. The battle for the title intensified with Rins moving to within one point of Zarco, while Lowes’ race victory moves him back into third. Once again tyre performance was key, with only a 0.4 second drop across the lap times from start to finish.

#ForeverForward 2016

After 14 races Fabio Di Giannantonio has leapt to the top spot of Dunlop’s #ForeverForward Award, thanks to a 19 place gain at Silverstone. The Northamptonshire track saw one of the most hotly contested battles for the crown this season, with 236 overtaking moves across Moto3 and Moto2 races, with the top mover being Moto3 racer Stefano Manzi, who gained 30 places. At Misano Xavi Vierge was the top mover, the Moto2 racer climbing from 25th to 12th to gain 13 places. In Aragon Livio Loi made the best use of his soft spec tyres, (one of only two riders to choose that option) to move up 16 places, but it was fellow Moto3 racer Joan Mir who made the most improvement with 19 places gained.
 

#ForeverForward after 14 rounds:

Fabio Di Giannantonio (Moto3) 92
Maria Herrera (Moto3)           90
Mattia Pasini (Moto2)            87
Isaac Viñales (Moto2)             82
Fabio Spiranelli (Moto3)         78
John McPhee (Moto3)            73

Round 15: Twin Ring Motegi, Japan –  16 October 2016

The Twin Ring Motegi track combines an oval and road course
When dry the track is easier on rear tyres than most circuits but the twisty nature features a lot of hard braking that makes more demand on the front tyre
Dunlop engineers have used their extensive experience to select the softest compounds available to provide the necessary stability, grip and precision

Motegi Track Facts:

Length: 4.801km
Left Turns: 6
Right Turns: 8
Energy level: Low
Left:right bias: 45%/55%

Motegi Tyre Allocation:

Moto2

Front: Soft '1'(black on yellow) / Medium '2' (black on silver)

Rear: Soft ’0’ (silver on black) / Soft ’1’ (black on yellow)

Moto3

Front: Soft/Medium

Rear: Soft ‘S1’/Medium 'M1'

Motegi 2015 Highlights

Practice and qualifying were held in dry conditions, allowing all riders the opportunity to try both option tyres with excellent performance and durability
Both Moto2 and Moto3 pole records were broken, Johann Zarco claimed Moto2 pole record by over half a second
Raceday saw both races held in wet conditions with both race laps reduced
The race crowned Johann Zarco as the sixth Moto2 Champion
Isaac Vinales’ fastest lap of the Moto3 race was set on lap nine of 13

Round 16: Phillip Island, Australia – 23 October 2016

Phillip Island is one of the fastest tracks on the calendar
Also one of the most spectacular in terms of undulations, the track requires a very specific tyre choice, with a hard compound tyre offering optimum grip and durability
As a result Dunlop is taking the same special hard 4077 as allocated for the demands of Philip Island last year, and the special hard ‘2’

Phillip Island Track Facts:

Length: 4.448km
Left Turns: 7
Right Turns: 5
Energy level: Very High
Left:right bias: 55%/45%

Phillip Island Tyre Allocation:

Moto2

Front: Soft '1'(black on yellow) / Medium '2' (black on silver)

Rear: Special Hard ’S2’ (black on silver) / Special Hard ’4077’ (no decal)

Moto3

Front: Soft/Medium

Rear: Medium 'M1'/ Hard 'H3'

Phillip Island 2015 Highlights

Last year’s Moto2 race was ten seconds faster than the previous year
During practice and qualifying both sets of tyres successfully completed 40 laps with durability and performance very good throughout
Moto3 Champion-elect Danny Kent saw his advantage reduced to 40 points after crashing out in the race

Round 17: Sepang, Malaysia – 30 October 2016

The traditional Malaysian tropical weather means track temperatures can vary greatly at Sepang
The track was resurfaced following the MotoGP tests in February, as a result Dunlop will take the harder compound tyres across both classes to accomodate the more abrasive surface

Sepang Track Facts:

Length: 5.543km
Left Turns: 5
Right Turns: 10
Energy level: Low/Mid
Left:right bias: 35%/65%

Sepang Tyre Allocation:

Moto2

Front: Medium '2' (black on silver) / Hard ‘3’ (yellow on black)

Rear: Hard ’3’ (yellow on black) / Hard ’4’ (white on black)

Moto3

Front: Soft/Medium

Rear: Medium 'M1'/Hard ‘H3’

Sepang 2015 Highlights

In Moto2 qualifying the first 16 riders were under the lap record and four were under the pole record
The Moto2 race was nine seconds faster than the previous year with race winner Johann Zarco setting a new race record
Thomas Luthi claimed the Moto2 pole and race lap record
Miguel Oliviera took the Moto3 win, breaking the race record by 7.5 seconds and reducing Danny Kent’s lead to 24 points with one round remaining
Second-placed Brad Binder set a new lap record, just 0.003 faster than Efren Vazquez

The FIM Moto2™ and Moto3™ World Championships leave Europe to embark on three fly-away events in Japan, Australia and Malaysia. The Motegi track in Japan on 16 October is traditionally easier on rear tyres than many other tracks in the dry, it’s twisty nature making more demands on the fronts due to hard braking. Very high energy levels for the Philip Island race means Dunlop engineers have elected to allocate the same special hard compound tyres used successfully for Moto2 in 2015. Usually the Sepang round would see a return to the softer end of the Dunlop range, however due to the resurfacing done in February, the engineers have elected to allocate Dunlop’s harder compound for Malaysia too, where tropical storms and potential 50 degree track temperatures can also play their part.

September Recap –  Silverstone, Misano and MotorLand Aragon

Round 12 took place at Silverstone and amid a wet qualifying session it was Sam Lowes who kept his Moto2 title hopes alive by securing his third pole of the season, with Francesco Bagnaia taking his first of the year in Moto3. In cool raceday conditions, Thomas Luthi won his second Moto2 race of 2016, after a controversial collision between Johann Zarco & Lowes which resulted in a 30 second penalty for the former. In Moto3 Brad Binder took his fourth win to extend his championship lead, while Bo Bendsneyder scored his first Moto3 podium finish.

The following weekend the teams moved to Misano for round 13 where an incredibly close-fought Moto3 qualifying, where one second separated the top 18, saw Brad Binder make the best of his soft rears to break the pole record and record his fourth top spot of the season. Taking his fifth win of the year, Binder also shaved six seconds off the overall race time. The battle for Moto2 saw Zarco claim his fourth pole of 2016, his medium compounds having a definite advantage and putting him top of a battle in which 17 riders were covered by a second. Lorenzo Baldassarri recorded his first Moto2 win, with Alex Rins’ second place cutting Zarco’s championship lead to just three points.

Another close qualifying in round 14 at MotorLand Aragon saw one second separate the top 18 Moto3 riders, and Enea Bastianini claim his third pole of the year ahead of Jorge Navarro. While Navarro went on to win, the race also saw Brad Binder claim the Moto3 crown with still four rounds remaining. In Moto2 Sam Lowes claimed his fifth pole of the year topping the first of 14 riders covered by one second. The battle for the title intensified with Rins moving to within one point of Zarco, while Lowes’ race victory moves him back into third. Once again tyre performance was key, with only a 0.4 second drop across the lap times from start to finish.

#ForeverForward 2016

After 14 races Fabio Di Giannantonio has leapt to the top spot of Dunlop’s #ForeverForward Award, thanks to a 19 place gain at Silverstone. The Northamptonshire track saw one of the most hotly contested battles for the crown this season, with 236 overtaking moves across Moto3 and Moto2 races, with the top mover being Moto3 racer Stefano Manzi, who gained 30 places. At Misano Xavi Vierge was the top mover, the Moto2 racer climbing from 25th to 12th to gain 13 places. In Aragon Livio Loi made the best use of his soft spec tyres, (one of only two riders to choose that option) to move up 16 places, but it was fellow Moto3 racer Joan Mir who made the most improvement with 19 places gained.
 

#ForeverForward after 14 rounds:

Fabio Di Giannantonio (Moto3) 92
Maria Herrera (Moto3)           90
Mattia Pasini (Moto2)            87
Isaac Viñales (Moto2)             82
Fabio Spiranelli (Moto3)         78
John McPhee (Moto3)            73

Round 15: Twin Ring Motegi, Japan –  16 October 2016

The Twin Ring Motegi track combines an oval and road course
When dry the track is easier on rear tyres than most circuits but the twisty nature features a lot of hard braking that makes more demand on the front tyre
Dunlop engineers have used their extensive experience to select the softest compounds available to provide the necessary stability, grip and precision

Motegi Track Facts:

Length: 4.801km
Left Turns: 6
Right Turns: 8
Energy level: Low
Left:right bias: 45%/55%

Motegi Tyre Allocation:

Moto2

Front: Soft '1'(black on yellow) / Medium '2' (black on silver)

Rear: Soft ’0’ (silver on black) / Soft ’1’ (black on yellow)

Moto3

Front: Soft/Medium

Rear: Soft ‘S1’/Medium 'M1'

Motegi 2015 Highlights

Practice and qualifying were held in dry conditions, allowing all riders the opportunity to try both option tyres with excellent performance and durability
Both Moto2 and Moto3 pole records were broken, Johann Zarco claimed Moto2 pole record by over half a second
Raceday saw both races held in wet conditions with both race laps reduced
The race crowned Johann Zarco as the sixth Moto2 Champion
Isaac Vinales’ fastest lap of the Moto3 race was set on lap nine of 13

Round 16: Phillip Island, Australia – 23 October 2016

Phillip Island is one of the fastest tracks on the calendar
Also one of the most spectacular in terms of undulations, the track requires a very specific tyre choice, with a hard compound tyre offering optimum grip and durability
As a result Dunlop is taking the same special hard 4077 as allocated for the demands of Philip Island last year, and the special hard ‘2’

Phillip Island Track Facts:

Length: 4.448km
Left Turns: 7
Right Turns: 5
Energy level: Very High
Left:right bias: 55%/45%

Phillip Island Tyre Allocation:

Moto2

Front: Soft '1'(black on yellow) / Medium '2' (black on silver)

Rear: Special Hard ’S2’ (black on silver) / Special Hard ’4077’ (no decal)

Moto3

Front: Soft/Medium

Rear: Medium 'M1'/ Hard 'H3'

Phillip Island 2015 Highlights

Last year’s Moto2 race was ten seconds faster than the previous year
During practice and qualifying both sets of tyres successfully completed 40 laps with durability and performance very good throughout
Moto3 Champion-elect Danny Kent saw his advantage reduced to 40 points after crashing out in the race

Round 17: Sepang, Malaysia – 30 October 2016

The traditional Malaysian tropical weather means track temperatures can vary greatly at Sepang
The track was resurfaced following the MotoGP tests in February, as a result Dunlop will take the harder compound tyres across both classes to accomodate the more abrasive surface

Sepang Track Facts:

Length: 5.543km
Left Turns: 5
Right Turns: 10
Energy level: Low/Mid
Left:right bias: 35%/65%

Sepang Tyre Allocation:

Moto2

Front: Medium '2' (black on silver) / Hard ‘3’ (yellow on black)

Rear: Hard ’3’ (yellow on black) / Hard ’4’ (white on black)

Moto3

Front: Soft/Medium

Rear: Medium 'M1'/Hard ‘H3’

Sepang 2015 Highlights

In Moto2 qualifying the first 16 riders were under the lap record and four were under the pole record
The Moto2 race was nine seconds faster than the previous year with race winner Johann Zarco setting a new race record
Thomas Luthi claimed the Moto2 pole and race lap record
Miguel Oliviera took the Moto3 win, breaking the race record by 7.5 seconds and reducing Danny Kent’s lead to 24 points with one round remaining
Second-placed Brad Binder set a new lap record, just 0.003 faster than Efren Vazquez

The Goodyear prototype truck tires displayed are the SUPER FUELMAX S steer tire in size 385/55R22.5 and SUPER FUELMAX D drive tire in size 315/70R22.5, and are a further development of the very successful low rolling resistance Goodyear FUELMAX range. At the IAA, these tires will be mounted on a fuel efficiency optimized DAF XF 4x2 tractor unit. In addition to their outstanding rolling resistance with A EU tire label grades, the drive tire qualify for the 3 Peak Mountain and Snow Flake (3PMSF) winter tire certification. The super fuel efficient prototype tires demonstrate Goodyear’s commitment to developing innovative products that reduce Total Cost of Ownership for fleets thanks to low fuel consumption – a key cost factor for fleet operators.

“The new Goodyear SUPER FUELMAX prototype tires illustrate our commitment to innovative transport solutions”, said Benjamin Willot, Director Marketing Commercial Tires at Goodyear Europe, Middle East and Africa. “The EU tire label covers just three performance criteria but before we bring any new product to market it must meet our stringent requirements covering 50 different performance criteria.  The SUPER FUELMAX A grade rolling resistance tires demonstrate our commitment to develop advanced fuel saving truck tires for our customers with a balanced performance in the other important criteria.”

Both the steer and the drive tires’ tread compounds feature a specifically developed new formulation based on silica. Thanks to a combination of material processing and curing, the silica blends with the polymer network in a way that further reduces rolling resistance while ensuring long tread life.

The tread design of the SUPER FUELMAX S steer tire features the tried and trusted IntelliMax Groove Technology.  This limits slip, especially when cornering, thanks to hidden raindrop grooves, which close when rolling through the footprint.  The ribs support each other reducing their movement and stiffening the tread.

The tread blocks of the SUPER FUELMAX D drive tire have been re-designed and the stiffness of the blocks has been improved. Combined with the low rolling resistance tread compound, the overall tire design results in a noticeably improved fuel efficiency compared to current FUELMAX D.  Re-engineering has further decreased rolling resistance, while offering a balanced performance in other important criteria areas.  IntelliMax Rib Technology has been introduced between the central and intermediate ribs to stiffen the tread for low rolling resistance, high mileage and regular wear, thanks to the inter-locking elements.

Goodyear was the first tire manufacturer to bring a truck tire to market that met the A grade rolling resistance requirements of the EU Tire Label. This was the 385/55R22.5 LHT II trailer tire. Goodyear currently offers the Goodyear FUELMAX T in size 385/55R22.5 and 435/50R19.5, which is an A grade fuel efficient truck trailer tire.  Together with the SUPER FUELMAX steer and drive prototype tires, Goodyear customers could benefit from a combination of A grade EU tire label tires in rolling resistance on steer, drive and trailer positions.

About Goodyear

Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs approximately 66,000 people and manufactures its products in 49 facilities in 22 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry.

Goodyear Dunlop Europe’s range of tires for commercial vehicles, buses and coaches includes more than 400 different tires covering in excess of 55 sizes. Many of the world's leading commercial vehicle manufacturers fit tires from Goodyear as standard, including DAF, Iveco, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Renault Trucks, Scania and Volvo Trucks. Goodyear also supplies tires to all major trailer manufacturers. With Fleet First, which includes the TruckForce service network, ServiceLine 24h roadside assistance, FleetOnlineSolutions Internet management system and Goodyear Retread Technologies, Goodyear provides one of the broadest ranges of dedicated services in the industry.

For more information on Goodyear and its products, visit http://www.truck.goodyear.eu​.

The fifth and penultimate round of the 2016 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) was held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium today. The four-hour race saw a continuation of Dunlop’s success with all three overall podium positions filled with Dunlop drivers, maintaining the 100% success for the season.

Overall and LMP2

The open tyre competition top-class saw Dunlop teams take the top six places. Dragonspeed took the team’s first race win in the Oreca, having started from pole position, but it was a hard fought race with safety cars, full-course-yellow periods and pit-stop strategies changing the fortunes of several teams throughout the four hours. Five different teams led at times, with Dragonspeed at the top of the timing screens for 39 of the 96 laps. Team WRT finished second at their first event, despite needing to rebuild the Ligier after a practice accident. The podium was completed by Thiriet by TDS Racing (Oreca), championship leaders, who now hold a 14 point lead on G-Drive Racing (Gibson) heading to the final round next month. What is guaranteed is that it will be a team using Dunlop tyres who will be crowned champions,  as no rival teams are within reach in the points.

LMGTE

JMW Motorsport (Ferrari 458 Italia) dominated the GTE class, leading all but one lap of the race and finishing just under one lap ahead of the #88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR 991. The podium was completed by the #55 AF Corse Ferrari. JMW Motorsport now has a 20 point lead on Aston Martin Racing with one race remaining.

#OneTeam

Dunlop Motorsport hosted over 500 colleagues from the wider Goodyear Dunlop road tyre business, which has its European Innovation Centre in nearby Colmar Berg, Luxembourg and headquarters in Brussels. Xavier Fraipont, Managing Director, Motorsport and Motorcycle said: "To involve so many colleagues in our fifth consecutive ELMS race win of the season was really inspiring and motivating for the team. We are continually sharing best practices and innovations between our road and race teams and it was fantastic to welcome the wider Company family to Spa."

Tyre strategies

The teams all used the medium option tyres which worked well in the hot ambient conditions. LMP2 teams double stinted the tyres while the GTE teams opted to single stint.

“Having so many of our colleagues here today was great and for them to see such success on track was really good. It was also great to see new teams doing well today – with Dragonspeed’s first win and Team WRT taking second on their debut weekend – even with the bad luck of having to rebuild the car. In GTE, JMW’s race was fantastic and they made it look very easy, which we know is far from reality. It was good to see a Porsche back on the podium too. This season has been very competitive and it will be a tense finale in Portgual to decide the champions in both categories.” stated Mike McGregor, Dunlop Manager Testing & Track Support

On track

The 16 hours of racing so far have brought three teams to the top of the table; Thiriet by TDS Racing has won three of the races and set two pole positions in their Oreca giving them a nine point advantage. G-Drive Racing won the opening round at Silverstone in the Gibson with the team only failing to score a podium finish at the last round in France. A further eight points behind is the AF Corse run BR01 squad with two second places and consistent finishes keeping them in championship contention. Mathematically there are a further three teams that are still capable of taking the title, although if the only non-Dunlop runner in the top-six fails to score the point for pole position at Spa in qualifying on Saturday, Dunlop is guaranteed to retain the 2016 crown. Dunlop has an unbroken record for 2016 of taking every ELMS podium position for the open-competition LMP2 class.

In the all-Dunlop LM GTE class, the competition is wide open with the top three teams separated by only eight points. There have been three different winners and seven different podium finishers so far this season. JMW Motorsport leads in a Ferrari 458 Italia, followed by Aston Martin Racing in the V8 Vantage with the AT Racing Ferrari in third.

Tyre Allocations

Dunlop is allocating the 2016 medium and medium-plus options for LMP2. In the all-Dunlop LM GTE class, teams continues with the season-standard specification, also medium and medium-plus compounds.

One Team Spirit

Spa Francorchamps is half way between Goodyear Dunlop’s European Headquarters in Brussels and the company’s Innovation Centre in Colmar Berg, Luxembourg. Over 500 associates from the company will be joining their Motorsport colleagues at Spa to watch the 4h race and get a behind the scenes look at how the Motorsport world can support their work in the Car and Commercial tyre business.

Mike McGregor, Dunlop Manager Testing & Track Support

“We know that the weather for Spa is changeable and can be quite warm in September so we have allocated accordingly. We know that the medium tyres have a very wide operating window so they are very capable of still performing well if it happens to be cooler than we expect. It should be a fantastic race in both of our classes – the result here is incredibly important in determining our 2016 champions so that is bound to have an impact on the racing.”

The European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of the Spa-Francorchamps starts at 14.00 CEST on Sunday 25th September.

Dunlop European Le Mans Series 2016 Tyres

LMP2 – Set specification (soft, medium, medium-plus, intermediate, wet)

Open tyre competition
Two out of three dry specifications nominated per event
Tyres permitted per 4 hour event: 5 sets plus two single tyres

The LMP2 range is the same new range that features in WEC. The different conditions of Europe, generally cooler, combined with the improved operating windows, will tend to favour the soft and medium options in ELMS.

LMGTE – All-Dunlop class (medium, medium-plus, intermediate, wet)

Controlled/single brand tyres for all three manufacturers represented

Tyres permitted per 4 hour event: unlimited
Intermediate tyre introduced for 2016
2016 confidential tyre range – supervised use with greater performance

The ELMS LMGTE Pro range is all-new for 2016, designed specifically for ELMS with improvement emphasis on performance and consistency. The introduction of Dunlop’s intermediate tyre will reduce team costs and add strategy options during races with mixed weather conditions.

Two class wins plus two podiums for Dunlop

The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT), FIM Endurance World (EWC) champions, won opening round of the 2016/17 series with ease. Anthony Delhalle took the lead on the fourth lap of the French Paul Ricard circuit and the squad had a trouble free 24 hours of running. Delhalle, Masson and Philippe maintained a strong pace that resulted in a win with an impressive nine lap margin to the next competitor. EWC newcomers Trick Star Racing from Japan took third place in their first ever 24 hour race. After running in the top three in the earlier part of the race, Dunlop partners Honda Endurance Racing retired with three hours remaining due to a mechanical issue while GMT94 Yamaha suffered from two crashes which dropped them to 44th after four hours.  The team made a great recovery to finish ninth.

The Endurance World Cup for the superstock class was won by another new team to the series – Moto AIN who battled hard with Tati Team Beaujolais Racing for several hours. A rider new to endurance, but not new to Dunlop tyres, was Alexis Masbou, a regular World Championship Moto2 GP rider. Each stint through the 24 hours was longer than each of his Moto2 races but the Frenchman proved consistent to the end and contributed to the class victory. Tati Team Beaujolais took the second step on the podium at the flag.

Bike 212, Dunlop Motors Events, raced using a prototype of the next generation road-legal Dunlop D212 GP Racer tyre to provide the final validation of the specification before it becomes commercially available in 2017. The tyre will be the newest available for serious track day riders and competitors racing on road legal products. The team finished 11th in class despite a long stop for repairs following an accident. Riders reported that the D212 GP Racer is very close in characteristics to the race-specific tyres.

In the Dunlop Independent Trophy, Moto AIN CRT was the highest finisher, followed by Tati Team Beaujolais Racing and Voelpker NRT48 by Shubert-Motors. The cash prizes continue for a second year to reward independent teams.

In the championship, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team scored maximum possible points, with five of the top seven teams in the standings after the Bol d’Or having chosen to compete on Dunlop tyres.

Jean-Felix Bazelin, Director of Operations, Dunlop Motorsport

“That was a great start to the new season. SERT had a perfect race and it is good to see them start defending their title. GMT94 Yamaha made a great recovery after their problems and it was a shame that Honda Endurance had to retire but they have shown their pace and potential. We are very pleased that two newcomers did so well – it is not easy coming over from Japan and competing in a 24 hour race for the first time, and Trick Star not only finished but finished on the podium. Similarly Moto AIN CRT had a tough job fighting with Tati Team Beaujolias but the new team, complete with our Dunlop one-brand Moto2 rider, performed very well indeed. We must thank all our teams who competed and gave us another exciting and ultra-competitive 24 hour race. It has been a very good weekend for us. Dunlop won the Bol d’Argent for amateur competition on Friday, two Bol d’Or Classic races and then the great results today.”

Aston Martin Racing took a second consecutive LM GTE Pro class win and fifth podium of the year while Signatech Alpine made it four wins out of six in a race that was testing for all the teams with the high heat and humidity. The teams opted for the medium compound tyre throughout which double stinted despite contending with track temperatures of 50 degrees centigrade.

Another LMP2 all-Dunlop podium

The #36 Signatech Alpine started from pole position but dropped back to second initially, taking the lead after 10 laps. From then the French team were unchallenged, leading the remaining 162 laps of the race and finishing a full lap ahead of the rest. The win is the team’s fourth from the six 2016 races and extends their lead in the championship. G-Drive Racing (Oreca) began from the back of the grid after a qualifying issue but rapidly regained lost ground, from 31st to 15th in the first 20 minutes of the race. By the end of the first hour the team was an impressive third in class and up to second just 45 minutes later, where they remained to the end. Manor Racing was initially in third, dropping to fourth after a battle with the 6 Hours of Mexico winners RGR Sport who claimed the final podium spot, their fifth of the year to date in their Ligier. In the final laps it was the superior grip from the Dunlop tyres that helped Mediani in the BR01 to pass Dalziel’s ESM Ligier for fourth.

In the LMP1 Private Teams battle, the Imperatori, Kraihamer and Tuscher Rebellion R-One led the privateer LMP1 class from the start, finishing the race in seventh overall with the ByKolles CLM in 11th having lost laps to a mechanical issue.

LMGTE - Aston Martin and Dunlop win LMGTE-Pro for the second race in succession

Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen took their first win in the #95 Vantage, the second consecutive win for Aston Martin in the GTE Pro class and fifth podium of the season. The pair of Aston Martin Vantages led every lap of the race between them, and leads have now been extended in the manufacturers’ and teams’ championships. In the driver’s standings, Thiim and Sørensen have taken the lead from team-mate Darren Turner.

Mike McGregor, Dunlop Manager Track Support & Testing 

“The conditions were very extreme for the drivers and everyone did well to race to the usual level with the added challenge of air temperatures over 35 degrees. Rebellion had another good race and we’re delighted that the #95 Aston Martin took a win – it shows that the tyres work well for drivers across the squad and suit different driving styles. In LMP2 we had great racing yet again - Signatech didn’t put a foot wrong and deserved the win."

FIA WEC Dunlop 2016 Tyres

LMP1 – Confidential tyre range – full range for all conditions

Dunlop’s return to LMP1 competition for the first time since 2012
Tyres permitted per 6 hour event: 10 sets plus two single tyres

LMP2 – Set specification (soft, medium, medium-plus, intermediate, wet)

Open tyre competition
Two out of three dry specifications nominated per event
Tyres permitted per 6 hour event: 7 sets plus two single tyres

LMGTE Pro – Confidential tyre range – full range for all conditions

Bespoke product for Aston Martin Racing

Tyres permitted per 6 hour event: 10 sets plus two single tyres

The result follows Tomac’s win last weekend in Charlotte and Desalle’s win in the Netherlands.

Sunday’s races were not won the easy way, with Tomac opening the races in around tenth place, working his way through the field each time. He overtook Cairoli for the lead in both races at the mid-point, crossing the line over 15 seconds ahead of the rest twice.

In MX2, Dunlop riders claimed two podium places with Jeremy Martin finishing second on his Honda followed by Mitchell Harrison (Yamaha) in third.

In the championships, Benoit Paturel’s sixth place was enough for the Yamaha rider to seal third in the MX2 standings with Brian Bogers in sixth. In MXGP, Evgeny Bobryshev finishes the season in fifth (Honda) while his team-mate Gautier Paulin took 13th, their points tally helping Honda to take the Manufacturers’ title. Clement Desalle (Kawasaki) finished the season in eighth with Valentin Guillod (Yamaha) in ninth and Jordi Tixier in 14th.

Although the MXGP season is over, riders have less than two weeks before the ‘Olympics’ of motocross when the Motocross of Nations takes place in Italy on 24th/25th September.

Tyre Choice

Dunlop riders used Dunlop Geomax MX3S front and rear.

Eddy Seel, Dunlop MX Race Coordinator:

“Taking a third win in a row is a good result and the best possible way to end the season. We have had a difficult year with injuries but the last rounds have shown the results that we are capable of. We must thank our teams and riders for their hard work this year and we look forward to more wins at the Motocross of Nations in just two weeks.”

After wins in the GTE  Am class (for 2015 spec cars and tyres) at Spa and Nurburgring, this was the first win for the partnership in the Pro class for the latest evolution of the Aston Martin Vantage GTE on 2016 Dunlop development tyres. 

The victors were Darren Turner and Richie Stanaway in the #97 Aston Martin Vantage with Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen in the sister car finishing third. Between them, the pair of Vantages led every lap of the race. The results move the #95 Aston Martin to the lead in the GTE Pro Teams’ championship, Aston Martin into the lead of the Manufacturer standings for the GT Pro class and Darren Turner into the lead in the GTE Pro driver rankings.

The victory followed a perfect qualifying session where the Aston Martins, uniquely on Dunlop tyres, outpaced the field of Ford GT, Ferrari F488 GTE and Porsche 911 RSR . After this perfomance, Team Principal Paul Howarth commented, “That was an unbelievable result for the whole team and our partners. Our relationship with Dunlop has gone from strength to strength and we’ve been exceptionally pleased with how the tyres have performed"

In the other FIA WEC classes, Dunlop teams also took victories. The Mexican RGR team lost the lead in the first pit-stops, leaving fellow Dunlop teams G-Drive Racing Oreca and Signatech Alpine to take turns leading, but with 20 minutes remaining the home team regained the lead, with Ricardo Gonzales/Filipe Albuquerque/Bruno Senna and RGR winning to close the gap in the championship slightly, with the #36 Alpine still carrying the significant advantage of the double-points for their Le Mans 24 Hours win. The Rebellion team took class honours in the privateer LMP1 class.

The FIA World Endurance Championship teams now move to Texas, with the next races hosted at the Circuit of the Americas near Austin on September 17th.

MXGP

Clement Desalle emerged the winner of the MXGP round in the Netherlands after storms made the sand track extremely challenging. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider finished both races in second place, scoring enough points to give him the overall win for the event and take the top step of the podium for the first time since joining the team. Desalle’s teammate, Jordi Tixier finished in tenth place. Both Honda riders struggled with the conditions after having a difficult qualifying and gate choice. Bobryshev and Paulin finished ninth and 14th

EMX150 – Honda 150 European Championship

Emil Weckman has retained the EMX150 title. The all-Dunlop Honda championship for juniors was dominated by the Finn who won eight of the ten races this season.

Tyre Choice

The riders used Dunlop Geomax MX11 sand tyre on the rear with the Geomax MX 3S on the front.

Eddy Seel, Dunlop MX Race Coordinator:

“Clement did a great job in conditions that can only be described as extreme. I’m really pleased that Kawasaki has finally achieved the result that we knew they were capable of. Looking to the future, I’m certain that we are going to see huge success for Emil Weckman. It is good for Dunlop to be able to be part of the development of such great young talent.”

#DunlopRoadtrip will give riders the opportunity to share videos and images of their ‘Ultimate Road Trip’ across the summer, with each month’s top three winning a brand new set of RoadSmart III tyres to be fitted to their bike.

The pan-European social competition will be fronted by legendary 23 time TT winner John McGuinness and will take place on the official Dunlop Moto Facebook and Twitter pages using the #DunlopRoadtrip.

From May 25th – September 30th, bikers will be encouraged to upload videos and images of their summer road trip giving them the chance to upgrade to a set of Dunlop RoadSmart III tires. To coincide with the campaign launch, John McGuinness will lead the way in releasing a stunning video of him riding his favourite routes.

The innovative new RoadSmart III has achieved some impressive stats in independent Motorrad testing* including 10.3% better performance in the dry, 4.4% better performance in the wet and an outstanding 82%** better front tyre mileage than the competitor average making it the perfect tire for touring. The RoadSmart III features a revolutionary interconnecting groove tread to offer enhanced wet performance along with a nano-technology compound delivering improved mileage. A new carcass and front profile means reduced warm up time for cold morning starts and an innovative tread delivers more even wear across the life of the tire.

All submissions entered will be judged every month by John McGuinness, with the top posts winning a set of the new Dunlop RoadSmart III tires. In addition, at the end of the summer, all the best images and videos will be collated into a single film with an online premiere.

-ends-

For more information on Dunlop Europe tyres, visit:  dunlop.eu 

Follow us on Twitter @DunlopMoto  

For editorial enquiries contact Matt Williams

Email: matt.williams@speedcomms.com Tel: +44 (0) 207 842 3200

*Compared to average performance of 4 leading competitor products in Sport Touring Radial segment (Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT, Bridgestone T30 Evo, Pirelli Angel GT and Metzeler Roadtec Z8 MO). Tested by Motorrad Test Center in January 2016 by order of Goodyear Dunlop. Tyre size Front 120/70ZR17 front and rear 180/55ZR17 rear. Test Bike: Yamaha FJR 1300A; Testing took place on test track at Goodyear Dunlop's Mireval Proving Ground, France

**Calculated against the German legal limit of 1.6mm minimum tread depth. Compared to average performance of 3 leading competitor products in Sport Touring Radial segment (Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT, Bridgestone T30 Evo, Pirelli Angel GT). Tested by Motorrad Test Center in November 2015 by order of Goodyear Dunlop. Tyre size Front 120/70ZR17 and rear 180/55ZR17 rear. Test Bike: Yamaha FJR 1300A; road testing took place on mixed surface roads around Almeria, Spain

Competition Terms and conditions at news.goodyear.eu

About Dunlop Europe

Dunlop Europe is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high and ultra high performance tyres with an impressive track record of motor sport successes. Dunlop Europe is a technical partner of Suzuki Endurance Race Team, Honda Racing and GMT94 Yamaha in Endurance Racing, Kawasaki and Team HRC in MXGP and the Official tyre supplier to the FIM Moto2 and Moto3 World Championship.

Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2016— Next to technology and innovation, performance was on the minds of all journalists attending this year’s Geneva Motor Show. It is a fact: performance is no longer reserved for luxury and high-end performance cars. Mainstream cars have irreversibly entered the game, as one of the many effects of motorization. Goodyear has taken on the challenge by delivering a new Ultra High Performance tire — the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3, fitted by leading car manufacturers, such as Volkswagen. 

Three months after it successfully introduced the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 to the market, Goodyear has shed light, during a dedicated webinar, on the UHP tire segment, on its place in the EMEA market, as well as on the engineering behind its tire.

Please find more information about the webinar in the press kit.

Goodyear announced today that it has partnered with German record breaker Rainer Zietlow and his second world record attempt to drive from Cape Agulhas, South Africa to Nordkapp, Norway in less than 10 days, starting this Friday, September 11.

The team’s first attempt last fall resulted in a record time of 21 days and 10 hours. But after an unlucky accident, through no fault of their own, the team lost 13 days before they could pick up their attempt on the same, undamaged tires. This September, Rainer Zietlow, cameraman Marius Biela and Sam Roach, CEO of Volkswagen Racing UK, will once again attempt a new world record.

Zietlow, a multiple world-record holder in extreme continent-spanning journeys, will depart from Cape Agulhas with his team on Friday, September 11 bound for Nordkapp, more than 18,000 kilometers away.

In order to cross three continents in a record-breaking time, Rainer Zietlow’s Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI will be fitted with Goodyear Wrangler HP All Weather tires for SUV and 4X4 vehicles. With the remarkable SmartTRED technology, the tires are designed to withstand the demanding range of extreme climates and road conditions en route.  

The world record attempt is expected to take around 10 days to complete and will see Zietlow and his Challenge4 team passing through 21 countries: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and finally Norway. To reach the European continent, the team will fly from Amman, Jordan.

For the second year, Goodyear has provided Zietlow and his team with its Wrangler HP All Weather tires given their successful handling during last year’s attempt. The tires, designed for SUV and 4X4 vehicles, combine solid year-round performance on tarmac and hardened roads with strong off-road abilities. The tires offer an aggressive grip in wet weather, strong aquaplaning resistance and a quiet, comfortable ride, delivering peace of mind to the team as they make their way to Norway.

“Goodyear’s Wrangler HP All Weather tires are particularly well equipped to handle the same varied climate and surface challenges that the Cape to Cape challenge faced last year,” said Alexis Bortoluzzi, Marketing Director EMEA at Goodyear. “The basic off-road capabilities combined with a comfortable ride is the ideal tire to navigate a 18,000 kilometer journey in under 10 days. With these tires, we feel confident that the team is prepared and ready to tackle the challenges ahead.”

“Last year Goodyear provided us with a safe and reliable tire that performed very well. When I decided to make a second world record attempt, I immediately knew that I wanted to work with Goodyear again,” said Rainer Zietlow. “They have not only been great partners, but most importantly, the tires carried us across the finish line flawlessly. I have no doubts that it will provide the same support to us this year as we make another world record attempt.”

The car will carry a total of six tires, four fitted and two spare. Other partners of the Cape-to-Cape 2.0 challenge include Volkswagen Slovakia, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Glysantin®, HBM, 3M, BORBET, IAV, Exide Technologies, Inmarsat and HELLA.

Further information

For additional pictures, videos and facts & figures about the drive, go to http://www.touareg-c2c2.com

About Goodyear
Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies. It employs approximately 67,000 people and manufactures its products in 50 facilities in 22 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to: http://www.goodyear.eu.