|
Fourth
place for UK duo in Fulda Challenge
Compromise
Found for Continental's Stöcken Plant
Britain's
Fastest Female Runs On Yokohama
Michelin
Accreditation for Commercial Tyres
New
Zafira fits Bridgestone Tyres
UK
Tyre Recycling Projects Funded by WRAP
Limited
Edition 70th Anniversary 4/4 Morgan gets Continental Tyres
Bridgestone
backs EU Road Safety Charter
B3081
is Named Bendiest Road in Britain
Bridgestone
e-reporter: 2006 Competition Announced
Fourth place for UK Duo in
Fulda Challenge
 The
UK's team of Martin Yardley and Kate Balchin have finished fourth
in this year's Fulda Challenge following the final days events in
and around Dawson City. The sixth and final day was held in extremely
low temperatures, which meant that the planned hovercraft race had
to be cancelled at the last minute on the frozen Yukon River. It
was replaced with a 4x4 driving competition to ensure that the Arctic
decathlon maintained its full quota of events.
Event nine, a mountain
run in the Tombstone Mountains saw Martin Hollerbach of the German
Lowa team taking maximum ten points in the man's race with Martin
Yardley 13 minutes behind in sixth position. Germany Toyota's Scheich
won the women's competition with the UK's Kate Balchin crossing
the finish line ten minutes later in fourth.
 Event
ten, a 4x4 slalom at Dawson City Airport saw the British team of
Kate and Martin collecting no penalty points as they took third
and six places respectively. The day's results meant that the impressive
German Lowa team won the 2006 Fulda Challenge after leading the
event from start to finish.
The UK team finished
in fourth place - 30 points behind the winning team - which was
the best result ever recorded by the UK in the annual Artic adventure.
Kate finished third overall in a field of world-class female athletes
and was presented with a cheque for $1,000 (Canadian).
The winning team was
awarded a Klondike gold nugget each at Diamond Tooth Gerties ceremony
- the northern-most casino in the world. Belgium's Liesbeth Buytart
and Martin Hollerbach were the top performing woman and man respectively
and they received a cheque for $3,000 (Canadian) each.
Compromise Found for Continental's
Stöcken Plant
In the conflict regarding
the closure of the passenger car tyre production of Continental
AG at the Hanover-Stöcken plant, Continental's Executive Board,
representatives of the IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie union as well
as of the employees' council have created the basis for a compromise.
Key elements are a flexible adaptation concept for the period from
January 1 to December 31, 2007, staff cutbacks that are as socially
acceptable as possible, the creation of additional jobs in the truck
tyre production and the research and development department in Stöcken,
as well as training components.
A work group is to
be formed consisting of management and employees' council members
with the task of analyzing future perspectives for the location.
The compromise model still must be approved by the responsible employee
representative groups.
"I am confident that,
with this compromise, we have taken an important step in the right
direction together," stressed Continental board member Thomas Sattelberger,
who is responsible for human resources and labour relations. "We
want to have reached a final, mutually acceptable agreement by the
middle of February."
Britain's Fastest Female
Runs On Yokohama
 Britain's
Fastest Female, Katherine Legge, visited the Yokohama HPT stand
at the recent Autosport International show and met with Mr Takao
Oishi, from Yokohama's head office in Japan. Katherine, who finished
third in the 2005 American 'Toyota Atlantic Supported By Yokohama'
race series, will use Yokohama tyres on her road car in the UK.
Katherine is one of
the UK's most promising drivers, having clinched three race wins
during the course of the 2005 Toyota Atlantic season, a feeder formula
to the Champ Car World Series. These wins included the opening round
at Long Beach in California, making her the first female to win
a round of a major open wheel race series in the USA. This outstanding
performance netted her third in the championship but more importantly,
the attention of some of the most influential figures in motorsport,
with a series of top level tests following.
Katherine underwent
a Formula One test at the end of 2005, one of the last drivers to
pilot a Minardi F1 car before the team was sold to Red Bull. She
drove at the Vallelunga circuit just outside Rome, where her fastest
lap was just 16/100ths of a second slower than that of regular team
tester, Chanoch Nissany. However, potentially more beneficial to
her career was a pair of Champ Car tests in the USA. First up was
a try-out with the RocketSports team at Sebring Raceway, where she
impressed the engineers and owners alike. She followed this with
a Champ Car test for the PKV team, which ran her in the Atlantic
series. She spent a further two days at Sebring demonstrating her
performance, pace and professionalism.
Katherine's relationship
with Yokohama in the UK is an extension of that which saw her racing
on the Japanese company's tyres in 2005. She will use Yokohama ADVAN
Sport tyres on her Mercedes road car, supplied by the UK distributor,
Yokohama HPT.
Michelin Accreditation for
Commercial Tyres
Ashford based independent
retailer Commercial Tyres has become the first truck tyre dealer
in the UK to pass a series of stringent quality checks laid down
by Michelin Tyre plc. Commercial Tyres, which also operates branches
in Aylesford and Crawley, specialises in supplying road transport
operators with a full range of tyre services, ranging from fitment
through to fleet management.
Paul Kuske, Managing
Director of Commercial Tyres, says: "The whole team has thoroughly
embraced the Michelin Accreditation, and we are very proud to be
recognised as the first truck tyre dealer to have reached this high
standard.
"The accreditation
process involved a lengthy audit of our complete business operation
and has seen our staff participate in Michelin's 'Licence to Fit'
training courses, which has served to further develop both their
technical knowledge and customer service skills," he adds.
Commercial Tyres has
been established since 1977, and plans to continue its expansion
with two new branches being brought on line during the next 12 months.
The company's branches offer a 24/7 service from a dedicated fleet
of 18 mobile service vehicles which carry out work at customers'
own sites, supported by a separate division which carries out fleet
inspections and wheel alignments. A further two service vehicles
are currently on order awaiting delivery in early 2006.
New Zafira fits Bridgestone
Tyres
 Vauxhall
has launched a new version of its user-friendly Zafira, which fits
Bridgestone tyres as original equipment. Featuring the versatile
Flex7 seating design that first appeared on the original car in
1999, a wide range of engines, and a choice of Bridgestone's Potenza
or Turanza tyres, the new Zafira is expected to become a popular
choice for UK drivers. While
the high-performance Potenza RE050A is fitted to the sporty versions
of the popular MPV, standard models are fitted with Turanza ER300
touring tyres.
Designed to deliver
optimum performance for a wide variety of car types, the Potenza
RE050 has an outer tread pattern featuring large blocks, providing
superior handling and road holding, while its larger contact area
dramatically improves cornering performance. The Potenza RE050's
pattern also provides rapid water evacuation. Even at high speeds
the RE050's contact patch remains clear, so there is less chance
of hydroplaning and more grip on the road.
The Turanza ER300 is
Bridgestone's premium touring tyre. It gives top-quality handling
in both wet and dry conditions, as well as providing a sharp steering
response and straight-line stability at high speeds. The shock-absorbing
carcass construction means an extremely smooth and comfortable ride,
and the noise levels are optimised by the advanced pattern design.
UK Tyre Recycling Projects
Funded by WRAP
A series of projects
and trials investigating the properties and potential applications
of new products made from used tyre waste are now underway with
support from WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme). The
successful proposals were selected for funding through an Open Tender
competition and two of the projects are specifically focused on
investigating new ways of retreading truck tyres using recycled
tyre crumb.
Rubber Recovery Ltd,
based in Barnsley, is investigating the production of a retread
compound with significant recycled content. Using technology proven
overseas, they will be developing a process that adds specially
formulated polymers to the recycled rubber crumb, enabling it to
become chemically reactive again with virgin compounds. The retread
compound will be used on truck and earthmover tyres.
In the second project,
operational trials of a retread tyre produced using an alternative
technology are being undertaken by Crumb Rubber Ltd of Devon. The
company's ambient mechanical abrasive process is producing an ultra
fine powder which is expected to show improved interactivity with
virgin rubber blends. The improved performance characteristics of
the powder are expected to lead to higher potential inclusion rates
in virgin rubber blends.
These projects are
part of a wider Tyres Programme being carried out by WRAP. Research
and operational trials are also underway to test further applications
for the construction industry, including roof tiles, concrete blocks,
floor underlay and wall panels and for road surfacing.
Steve Waite, Materials
Project Manager (Tyres) at WRAP, said: "With shredded tyres banned
from landfill sites from July this year, WRAP is working to develop
new technologies and uses for recycled tyre rubber. These exciting
projects have been funded because they offer the potential to significantly
increase the use of recycled tyre rubber in the retreading of truck
and earthmover tyres.
Limited Edition 70th Anniversary
4/4 Morgan Gets Continental Tyres
To celebrate the 70th
anniversary of the Morgan 4/4, the Morgan Motor Company has unveiled
a limited edition Morgan 4/4 slightly smaller than its Plus 4 and
Roadster siblings.
Just 142 "70th Anniversary"
Morgan 4/4 cars will be built - two cars for every year of its production
life since launch. Each car will be individually marked with the
year it honours, finished in period style and fitted with Continental
165/80R15 CT22 tyres.
Matthew Parkins, Sales
Director at Morgan said, "We chose Continental because we have received
high levels of customer satisfaction with their tyres. They combine
value for money with a classic styling appropriate for our special
edition cars."
Tracey Hyem, Passenger
Brand manager at Continental said, "We have a long-standing relationship
with Morgan and have been supplying Original Equipment tyres to
them for over 20 years. Morgan's choice of tyres for their limited
edition 4/4's is a testament to the diversity of Continental products
and the range of cars we supply to at OE."
Bridgestone Backs EU
Road Safety Charter
Bridgestone Europe
has confirmed its full support for the goals of the European Road
Safety Charter. Launched in January 2004, this is one of the European
Commission's main initiatives in a bid to halve the number of EU
road fatalities by 2010. Its ambitious target, set in the 2001 White
Paper on transport policy, acknowledges the growing concern among
all inhabitants to reduce the number of road accident victims.
Bridgestone's principal
contribution lies in its three-year 'Think before you Drive' campaign,
now being conducted in partnership with the FIA (Federation Internationale
de l' Automobile) Foundation. "Tyres are often one of the safety
elements most ignored by the general public," said Bridgestone Europe
Chairman, CEO and President Minekazu Fujimura at the March 2005
launch of the global campaign.
"Our research showed
that just two in five consumers check their tyre pressure each month
and only a one in three check their tyre tread depth each month.
One in five never checks either."
At the same time, to
raise public awareness of the need for sensible precautions, 'Think
Before you Drive' focuses on four key actions that only take seconds
but can make the difference between life and death in the event
of an accident:
- Always wear your
seat belt;
- Always use appropriate
child restraints;
- Always adjust your
head restraint;
- Regularly check
your tyre condition (pressure and wear).
Reinforcing these guidelines
are widespread leaflet distributions and tyre gauge give-aways,
plus events such as free safety inspections, and displays in shopping
centres and at motor racing circuits. A Europe-wide safety-themed
children's' art competition in 2005 proved immensely popular, attracting
over 14,000 entries. This will be repeated in 2006, under the title
'Dreams at Heart'.
B3081 is Named Bendiest
Road in Britain
The B3081 is officially
the bendiest road in Britain according to a new technical study
published by Continental Tyres. Continental commissioned the research
to find out which of Britain's 6,300 classified roads sets the toughest
task for car tyres.
At a steady 30mph,
a one mile stretch of the B3081 between Cann Common in Dorset and
Tollard Royal in Wiltshire exerted lateral forces of a magnitude
a car would experience on a racetrack like Brands Hatch. Researchers
tested a shortlist of ten roads - nominated by the readers of a
leading car magazine - the length and breadth of mainland Britain.
A standard Vauxhall
Astra 1.4 with Continental ContiSportContact2 tyres was fitted with
state of the art measuring equipment and an on-board computer to
record forward speed and lateral acceleration. Four runs, two in
each direction, at a constant 30 mph, allowed the researchers to
calculate the bendiest one mile section of the road, measured by
the average lateral force impulse, calculated in kiloNewton seconds
(kNs). The data
revealed that some of the tighter corners resulted in a forces exerted
on the driver approaching one positive G - a force more usually
associated with rollercoasters than British B roads.
Many of the top 10
bendiest roads are in hilly areas of the country: the B3081 winds
its way through the Cranbourne Chase on the Wiltshire-Dorset border;
the 2nd placed A686 between Penrith and Melmerby leads to the Lake
District and the once notorious 3rd placed A537 between Macclesfield
and Buxton lies in the Peak District. The surprise entry in the
top ten is the 6th placed A157 between Louth and Mablethorpe in
predominantly flat Lincolnshire.
Bridgestone e-reporter: 2006
Competition Announced
With the opening round
of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship approaching in less
than six weeks Bridgestone has announced the launch of its 2006
Bridgestone e-reporter initiative - a pan-European competition to
nurture the next generation of sports journalists.
The overall winner
of the 2005 Bridgestone e-reporter competition, Mike Channell, who
is now working for the UK's top computing magazine PC Format, commented:
"Bridgestone e-reporter is an amazing opportunity for a young writer
who wants to break into the competitive world of journalism, and
going behind the scenes at a Grand Prix is the most fantastic experience
for any motorsport fan. I worked hard on my entry in February 2005
but never expected the rewards that came from Bridgestone. Attending
the Monza F1 & GP2 races, travelling to Japan to further experience
how Bridgestone fulfils its mission to serve society with superior
quality, having my writing published on a global website and being
given a laptop to take home was a phenomenal prize".
Now in its third successful
year, Bridgestone e-reporter has introduced further elements to
the competition designed to build the experience for participants
and to increase the credibility of their work. Eight finalists will
be invited to attend a European Grand Prix to report on the GP2
Series, where they will meet and interview the drivers and also
the key personalities who are responsible for making the Championship
such a phenomenal stepping-stone into Formula One for young drivers.
Finalists will have
the chance to soak up the atmosphere in the Formula One paddock
and work alongside the established 'international media pack'. The
overall winner will then report on two events, one within Europe
and one further afield, being awarded a state-of-the-art laptop
and invaluable work experience with the UK's leading paper in the
industry, Motorsport News. In addition, the winner will feature
as presenter of a Bridgestone Journal - a television bulletin covering
Bridgestone's main community programmes including e-reporter, Dreams
at Heart and Safety at Heart.
Entries should be submitted
online at www.bridgestone-eu.com/e-reporter and will be judged by
a panel of international media representatives consisting of Formula
One broadcaster Tony Jardine, Motorsport News Editor Jim Holder,
Motorsport writer Jeremy Hart, Bridgestone Motorsport Press Officer
Rachel Ingham, and GP2 Series Media Manager Will Buxton.
|
