Grand-Am Rolex Pilots Tested New Pirelli Slicks
The Pirelli company presented Pirelli P Zero Nero Racing Slick tires (model of 2010) at the Daytona International Speedway during the December testing held within the framework of preparation for the Rolex 24 racing.
Rolex 24 will be held in January 2010. According to numerous fans the racing is “one of the most legendary racings”. Two-day testing was held on 8 – 9 December, all the teams got the first opportunity to test new racing slicks manufactured under the HAOF (Highly-Aromatic Oil-Free) technology, i.e. without the addition of highly-aromatic oils to the rubber compound. Pirelli P Zero Nero Racing Slick became the first eco-friendly tires in the segment, and the pilots said that the results “were impressive”.
The tires were tested on 24 cars at the famous 3,56-mile Daytona racing track. Though the official results of the lap passing time were not published, Max Angelelli on his SunTrust Racing Ford Dallara became the unofficial winner. Besides this, he almost beat the record. “I am satisfied, - said Angelelli. – New tires showed excellent performance. The tire can cope with such number of laps that is hard to imagine”.
Scott Pruett, who won twice in the category Rolex Series Daytona Prototype and three times at Rolex 24, was also impressed by the new Pirelli slicks. Pruett tested BMW Riley together with Felix Sabates.
“It was the durability of the tires that astonished us most of all, - noted Pruett. – This is the greatest breakthrough in the motor racing I have ever seen. Their resistance to loads is astonishing. At the end of the lap we could move with the same speed as at the beginning – that was what we all needed. As far as I can judge they managed to make a big step up. And I’m talking not only about the speed but also about the durability”.
The pilots in both classes of Rolex series will get another opportunity to test their new tires at the Daytona track on 8 – 10 January 2010 during the annual three-day Roar Before the Rolex test.
Pirelli Yielded to Hankook On The European Market?
Will Hankook push out Pirelli from the top five tire manufacturers of Europe?
The market research conducted by Hankook showed that the Michelin company remains an absolute leader on the tire market (both in segments of passenger and truck tires). At the same time a new player appeared in the previously stable top five – namely Hankook.
Why did Hankook decided to publish its research now, after one of the most difficult periods in the history of the market? It can be explained by the fact that 2009 was an extremely successful year for the Korean company. The peculiar combination of factors has changed the state of affairs during last 12 months. The major question now – will Hankook be able to retain its positions in Europe in the following years?
Here is the forecast of Hankook for the end of 2009 (passenger tires market): Michelin will remain the leader with the market stake of 20%, the second place goes to Goodyear Dunlop (18%), the third – to Bridgestone (12%), Pirelli has 8%. The most interesting fact here is that Hankook holds the 7th place with 7%. It means that its lagging behind Pirelli is not so big.
What concerns truck tires the first place again goes to Michelin (32%), the second place – Goodyear Dunlop (18%), Continental holds 16% of the market, Bridgestone – 13%. According to Hankook, it performs even better in this segment and holds the 5th place thus having overtaken Pirelli.
Since December has just begun the data can be regarded only as a forecast. At the same time Hankook gives 18% to other companies what means that its research is based on the analysis of the whole market. It also cannot be the result of companies that are members of ERMC Europool because the stake of Cooper and Trelleborg would be much higher in this case. Thus, there may be doubts regarding the correctness of the data in respect of sales volumes of Cooper, Kumho, GTRadial, Nexen, Nokian, Toyo, Yokohama etc. The rise of their stake will inevitably lead to the reduction of that of the five major companies. Anyway, only time can eliminate the doubts.
Tire Prices Continue Growing
Import duties in combination with restrained shipments and increased demand have led to the growth of tire prices in the United States, reports Associated Press.
Goodyear, the biggest American tire manufacturer, has just announced that it will raise the cost of its production, and other producers are likely to follow its example to compensate the effect of additional import duties imposed on Chinese tires as well as growing prices for raw materials such as oil and natural rubber. Saul Ludwig, the analyst of the KeyBank, is sure that in January 2010 the prices will grow by 5-10%.
According to the forecast of Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), at the beginning of 2010 the Americans will buy around 210 million tires on the secondary market. President Barack Obama has recently imposed additional 35% import duties on Chinese tires after the United Steelworkers had announced in its petition that the rise of import had led to the discharge of more than 5000 American workers since 2004. The Chinese tires have held 17% of the US secondary market what is more by 12% if to compare with the data of 2005.
The law will cover the tires produced in China by the major manufacturers such as Michelin and Pirelli, as well as tires produced straight by the Chinese companies and exported to the American market under such brands as Ling Long, Wanli etc.
At the same time not only the prices for the Chinese tires began to grow. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced that it would raise the cost of all consumer tires on the secondary market by 6% on December 1, 2009. The company stated that it was caused by the raw materials price rise. Around 2% of Goodyear tires are produced in China and it will help to offset the expenses caused by the rise of duties.
Pirelli Cinturato – “Green Heart” And “Soul” Of The Frankfurt Motor Show
The Pirelli company promotes ecological and driving performance of its products at the Frankfurt Motor Show demonstrating it together with the leading car producers and engineers.
The company also notes that the testing conducted by the independent organizations Dekra and TÜV “proves the company’s success thanks to its commitment to the development of eco-friendly products, decrease of negative influence on the environment, decrease of fuel consumption and, simultaneously, improvement of the driving performance and safety level.”
In its official press release that coincided with the holding of the Frankfurt Motor Show the Pirelli company announced that according to the results of the independent testing Cinturato P7 tire is the best ecological tire in its segment thanks to the lower fuel consumption level and, correspondingly, lower amount of CO2 exhaust into the atmosphere, increase of the potential mileage and safety level especially on wet surface.
Thanks to P7 tire the rolling resistance of the vehicle is reduced by 20%, amount of the consumed energy – by 4%. Besides this the tire ensures 30% decrease of the noise level, shortening of the braking distance by 2 yards on dry and wet surface and absence of harmful aromatic oils in the rubber compound. P7 has been chosen for the original equipment of Audi (A4, A4 Allroad, A5), Mercedes (S and E class), BMW (X1, Series 3, Series 5) and Volvo (S80, V70) the majority of which were presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Pirelli also presented a collection of PZero tires that belong to the ultra-high performance segment and were designed exclusively for the prestigious cars exhibited at the Frankfurt Motor Show – Ferrari 458 Italia, McLaren MP4 12 C, Maserati Quattroporte and Granturismo.
