Bob Fowden & Paul Wakely took a second consecutive victory in the 2017 JD Tyres Welsh Tarmacadam Championship on Sunday, winning the Melvyn Evans Motorsport Tour of Epynt run by Port Talbot Motor Club over the superfast ribbons of asphalt that snake over the military land above Sennybridge in mid Wales.

Battle was joined with the Ford Fiesta WRC machine of Damian Cole / Paul Morris, the Ford fastest by three seconds from the Comline Auto Parts – Kumho Tyres – NGK Subaru Impreza WRC of the Welsh pairing, though Fowden & Wakely clawed back a second on the longer stage two, an eleven miler to the south via Merthyr Cynog. Stage three repeated the opener, the Fiesta and Subaru equal on times, before a massive accident destroyed the Mitsubishi Colt of Sean Crowley – Emma Todd after a high speed crash on a crest on the notorious Burma Road section – both were hospitalised but fortunate to escape serious injury.

The Fowden – Wakely Impreza further impressed back on the long fourth stage, taking another two seconds off the Fiesta WRC, to hold the joint lead, and make the win very possible with three long stages remaining, though in fact the contest was virtually over, as the Ford slowed and duly retired after electrical failure, a Lamda sensor affecting the engine performance, the Fiesta WRC smoking in Service as the team battled to solve the problem, but to no avail. Thus barring unforeseen disaster to the Comline – Kumho – NGK Subaru victory was going to the Welsh duo, and so it proved. The margin was over a minute and a half after the seven stages of the rally, the Subaru massively faster over the final two long stages, Bob Fowden a driver who has long performed best on Epynts longer tests and Paul Wakely guiding the Impreza faultlessly over the stages.  Slight problems with the anti-lag system on the Subaru gave the crew a difficult time on hairpins, as did a slide off road at the Four Ways Bridge section of stage five, though only eight seconds was lost such was the pace the Welshmen set over the thirteen miles.

Fifty two crews finished the seventy five stage mile event.  The next round of the JD Tyres Welsh Championship will be the Tour of Caerwent on April 2^nd at the former RAF base outside Newport.

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The 2017 British Rally Championship (BRC) gets underway this weekend with the Border Counties Rally in Jedburagh, Scotland. Marty McCormack and Dave Moynihan are hoping a new car and a new year will beckon the return of their winning ways!

2017 sees the Tiger Risk Rally Team change car to the Skoda Fabia R5, this should allow them to battle at the front at every round of the highly competitive championship. Marty is once again joined in the car by Dave Moynihan. Dave, who has navigated for Marty for many years is a calming influence in the car and the pairing work extremely well together.

“I am delighted to have Dave back beside me this year, we get on really well and he has a great calming influence in the car, which makes it easy for me to push! The new TigerRisk Skoda is leagues ahead of the car we used last year, in terms of handling and power. It’s exactly what we needed to push forward in the championship.”

The Borders Counties Rally is substituting as round one of the BRC 2017, replacing Rally North Wales which was canceled earlier in the year. This is a new rally to most competitors which will level the playing field among the crews. Marty and Dave competed on the Willie Loughman Rally in Ireland as a warm up for the start of the season. It was a very successful day, trying out new settings and getting comfortable in the new car. A number of fastest times against some of their fellow BRC competitors like Keith Cronin and Desi Henry bodes well for the year ahead.

“The Willie Loughman was a great test in the car, we tried a few different settings to see how the car would react and we have now have a good base setting going to Scotland. I am feeling really comfortable in the car now, the difference in power and handling over the S2000 Skoda is massive and it will be great to battle with the BRC regulars in equal machinery.”

The Borders Counties Rally gets underway outside Jedburagh Abbey with an autograph signing at 4pm on Friday. This is followed by two runs through Craik Forest in darkness. It will be an arduous start to the event with the inclement weather sure to add too the difficulty. It will be key to have a clean run through these two tests and stay within striking distance of the leaders to have a chance at a victory on Saturday evening.

Saturday is where the rally really gets underway with over 50miles of stages on some of the best gravel roads the area has to offer. The winners will spray the Champagne back outside Jedburagh Abbey at approximately 4pm.

Marty commented: “We are really looking forward to getting into the first round of the BRC and see where we are compared to the competition. We have a comprehensive test planned in the run up to the event and will be as prepared as we can be to battle at the front!”

You can keep up to date with Marty on Twitter @martymccormack and Facebook.com/marty.mccormack1. Marty is competing this season with the support of Tiger Risk Partners, P McCormack and Sons Ltd.

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Although we are not always the luckiest with our Summer weather here in Britain, it is still important to keep an eye on your tyres during the warmer weather.

Last year, temperatures in the UK hit a whopping 33.5 degrees Celsius. And although few and far between, if you walked bare feet on the tarmac on one of these days, you’d probably feel like your feet were melting. So spare a thought for your poor tyres.

Luckily, you won’t need to be applying factor 30 to your tyres anytime soon. However, we’ve put together a list of tips that will help to keep your tyres in the best possible condition during the summer months.

Tyre pressure

Heat can take its toll on your tyres as both rubber and air can expand depending on the temperature. You just have to throw it back to the science lesson at school to know that air expands as it heats. This increases air pressure in your tyres as they get warmer. Because of this, tyre pressure constantly changes during warm weather.

Under-inflation

As a result, tyres can easily becoming under-inflated or over-inflating during the summer. An under-inflated tyre might swell outward and exerts pressure on the sidewalls of the tyre. With constant heat exposure and increasing sidewall pressure, the tyre might blow.

Over-inflation

Over-inflation can damage the treads and in some of the worst cases, it can also cause the tyre to burst. We’d recommend that you check your pressures on a weekly basis. You could also try pouring water on the rubber to cool it down on the hotter days, as well as trying your best to park your car in the shade when possible.

Tyre valves

Tyre valves are also important to check. They may be small but size does not matter. You should check that they are in proper shape and that the cap cover is fitted appropriately.

Spare tyres

Make sure the tyres (including the spare) are free from damage and have at least the minimum legal tread depth (1.6mm around central 3⁄4 of tread). Consider changing your tyres if they are getting close to the legal limit.

Other checks

It is best to check your tyres just before the summer in order to check for cracks. Now’s the perfect time to check them over and make sure they are good to go. We might not be able to guarantee the weather, but you should make sure your tyres give you the best drive possible whatever the weather. Come rain or shine!

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After two days of frantic action in the infamous Kielder Forest, Marty McCormack and David Moynihan got their British Rally Championship (BRC) bid off the ground with a superb third position on the Pirelli International Rally. On only their fourth event in the Tiger Risk Škoda Fabia R5, the crew set some very encouraging stage times, and were it not for a puncture on the fourth stage the result could have been even better!

Based in Carlisle and utilising some classic stages in ‘Killer Kielder’, the event was won by Swede Fredrik Ahlin in a Škoda Fabia R5, with Osian Pryce coming in second in a Ford Fiesta. Only 10.1 seconds separated second and third positions come the finish, and confidence is high in the Tiger Risk camp for the next BRC round, the RSAC Scottish Rally on the 19th and 20th May.

The pair held fifth overall come the Saturday evening halt, with Marty commenting, “We were delighted with our pace on the first few stages, and actually caught Eyvind Brynildsen on the first and got stuck in Keith Cronin’s dust on the second! The dust cost us a few seconds, but we were lying third until a rock caught our rear left Kumho on the fourth test and lost us a lot of time. We’re lucky to be here if I’m honest!”

David added, “It was a fifth-gear left over crest with a cut, but we didn’t quite keep in enough. A stall further compounded the time loss, but we’re still here and we’ll try again tomorrow.”

Try they did, and a time of 9:11.8 on the 16.85km of Sunday’s opening stage leapfrogged the crew back up to third position, where they stayed for the remainder of the event. Indeed, McCormack and Moynihan’s times on the final trio of stages were consistently in the top three, with a second-fastest time on the last Claver Hill test rounding off a terrific run. It was a case of what could have been, and after promising pace unfortunately ended in retirement on the opening BRC round at the Border Counties Rally, the team are hugely encouraged by the consistent speed shown over this weekend.

“It was fantastic to tackle the classic Kielder stages in the Tiger Risk Škoda Fabia R5, and we have shown that the speed is most certainly there. I’m delighted to get some points on the board, and the car and the Kumho tyres are working brilliantly. I’d like to thank David for a great job on the notes as ever, as well as the entire team for all their hard work. I can’t wait for the Scottish Rally in a few weeks’ time, and we’ll be gunning for a top result from the very start!” Marty McCormack, at the end of the tough event.

Keep an eye on Twitter @martymccormack and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/marty.mccormack1. Marty is competing this season with the support of Tiger Risk Partners and P. McCormack and Sons Ltd.

The post McCormack nets podium finish in our tyres appeared first on Kumho Tyre UK.

Marty McCormack with navigator David Moynihan took an emphatic win at the Donegal Forestry Rally 2017, round three of the Irish Forestry Rally Championship. This vaults the TigerRisk Škoda Fabia R5 to the joint fourth in the championship standings with three rounds to go.

Following on from a fine third overall at the British Rally Championship Pirelli Rally in Carlisle the previous weekend, hopes were high heading into the Donegal Town based event. After a number of notable withdrawals, the competition was slightly lacking, but this would not effect Marty as his aim was to gain as much testing prior to the Scottish Rally on the 20-21st of May. Marty now holds a firm 5th place overall in the British Rally Championship standings but is poised, just a handful of points away from the podium places. A good result at the Scottish event should pull the team back into title contention!

The Donegal Forestry Rally started as it was to continue, with the fastest time for the Kumho-shod Skoda over the opening test. This was followed up with another two fastest times over stages two and three before returning to service with a 19.3-second advantage over Patrick O’Brien.

“The first stage was incredibly demanding, it was very tricky and so slippy we were very glad to get through it. I settled in better on the second stage and felt much more comfortable on the third, it was very nice. It was a mixed morning altogether but we are here and leading the rally so all is good!” “We have a few things we want to do with the car in service now to try and get more grip in the slippy sections, it’s all learning”

The car now re-fettled by the McGeehan Motorsport Team, Marty and David went back out with a renewed vigour. Another two fastest times were just reward with Marty commenting “The changes we made to the car seem to be helping, stage four was very tricky over the jumps and bumps so we were just a bit careful through that, we have a nice lead built up now so we just want to look after it now”

With only two stages remaining in the Donegal Forestry Rally, the TigerRisk car was 46.4 seconds clear in the lead of the event. It was now a case of keeping it clean and getting to the finish. The final test was a 16km blast through Tullnacarry, which was run twice. Disappointingly the first running of the stage was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, so this left one stage before the finish line in Donegal Town centre.

Marty blasted into the final test, his last opportunity to feel comfortable with the car before the Scottish Rally. He finished the stage twenty-five seconds quicker than his nearest rival to claim the victory by over one minute ten seconds!

“It’s been a great day in the TigerRisk Škoda and to get the win is a great bonus, but the amount we have learned about the car in these conditions is invaluable! It is a great confidence boost heading into the Scottish where we need a good result to keep us in the championship hunt.”

Keep an eye on Twitter @martymccormack and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/marty.mccormack1. Marty is competing this season with the support of Tiger Risk Partners and P. McCormack and Sons Ltd.

The post Marty conquers Donegal in Kumhos appeared first on Kumho Tyre UK.

We’re excited.

If there’s one thing we always strive to be, it’s forward-thinking. Whether that’s with our tyre technology, our designs, our concepts or even as part of the future of motoring as a whole. At Kumho, we are thrilled (and excited) to be part of the revolutionary InMotion electric racing car.

It is currently one of the world’s fastest fully-electric racing car that will shortly make its debut at the Zandvoort motorsport circuit in Holland, shod with Kumho tyres. During the track’s annual Pinksterraces meeting (June 3-4), the young Dutch racing team InMotion, that primarily comprises students from Eindhoven University of Technology and Fontys University of Applied Sciences, will attempt to break the circuit’ s existing electric car record of 2:04.52 minutes. However, the general public will have the opportunity to preview InMotion and its IM/e at the same circuit during this weekend’s (May 20-21) annual Family Days. The team will be in good company, as the main attraction of the event will be none other than the Dutch F1 sensation Max Verstappen and his Red Bull Grand Prix car.

Based on their previous Formula Bio bio-ethanol racecar, InMotion’s IM/e features a powertrain consisting of a pair of high power electric motors that generate a mighty impressive 550bhp, while retaining the car’s total weight as low as 650kg. Of higher specification than a Formula E single-seater, it will sprint from 0-100kph within 3 seconds and reach speeds of up to 280kph. However, this is only stage one for the young entrepreneurs, as it will serve as a test-bed for their forthcoming IM01 – an 1100-plus horsepower hybrid sports racing car with which they hope to break Stefan Bellof’s outright record of 6:11.13 minutes for the 20.8km Nürburgring Nordschleife, before competing in the Garage 56 class of the legendary Le Mans 24 Hour race – the class reserved for vehicles of technical innovation. This spectacular racing car of the future is intended to outperform a current F1 car while consuming less than half the amount of fuel.

“We are very happy about the partnership with this young team, where it is clear innovations are dared and visions realised. These highly motivated Dutchmen are set on demonstrating that electric drive and motorsport can be a perfect match and we are proud to be supporting their plans.” Dirk Rockendorf, Marketing Director of Kumho Europe.

The post Kumho Appointed Exclusive Tyre Supplier for the InMotion Electric Racing Car appeared first on Kumho Tyre UK.

(Cover photo credit: Thibault Lefebvre)

‘Killer Kielder’ forest didn’t get it’s fearsome reputation in rallying for nothing – the fast stages lined by unforgiving large ditches (which can swallow a rally car whole!) have proved a challenge for the best in the sport since the 1970s. Back then the forest roads were known to be car-breakers being some of the roughest in the UK, but now the roads are fast and smooth allowing the top modern 4WD cars to average well over 60mph between the trees and ditches. A real test for drivers, machinery, and of course the all-important tyres whose job it is to give both good grip and feedback to the driver on the super-fast stages. 

Photo credit: Chicane Media

Competing ahead of the British Rally Championship field on April’s Pirelli Rally, in with the fastest Historic ‘Classic’ and Modern two-wheel drive cars in UK forest rallying, the Rallytravel.com Ford Escort Mk2 of David Hutchinson & Jeff Garnett took a brilliant 1st in Class and 14th over-all on their first ever rally in Kielder Forest! As the duo in their Kumho R800 shod, Motoscope.co.uk run car settled in with a steady run through the Saturday morning stages several of their competitors hit trouble with punctures, spins and accidents.

“As usual, the Kumho R800s performed brilliantly on the abrasive gravel roads” reports co-driver Jeff, “leaving myself and Dave to concentrate on getting used to the new stages, and most importantly keeping the car out of the huge ditches!”

Photo credit: Rally Captures

The pair did just that, setting a top-10 fastest stage time on the final stage of the afternoon to beat several of the regular BHRC championship contenders back to the Carlisle finish averaging almost 60mph on some of the gravel stages in the process. The Rallytravel/Motoscope team return to Kielder Forest in June, to different stages on the West of the complex for the ‘Carlisle Stages Rally’, aiming to take another class win in another championship with Kumho Tyres.

The post Kumho Storms to Class Win at the Pirelli Rally appeared first on Kumho Tyre UK.

Coming off the back of a fine podium finish in the Pirelli Rally and a win at the Donegal Forestry, the TigerRisk Rally camp claimed an excellent 3rd overall at the Scottish Rally, round 3 of the British Rally Championship!

As the 2017 season progresses Marty McCormack and David Moynihan are really starting to gel with their new Škoda Fabia R5! The stage times and results have been getting better and better. Confidence was high heading into the Scottish Rally based in Dumfries. After a string of top results on recent events, Marty and David hoped to fight at the front of the event and they didn’t disappoint! The rally got underway on Friday night with two runs over the 8 mile ‘Mount Joe’ test the first run through at dusk followed by the second run in the dark. A real tricky opener to the event.

A steady run through the first stage left the TigerRisk machine in 7th place overall but on the second run Marty put the pedal to the metal and climbed up to 4th. His average speed over the 8 miles was in excess of 63mph, a stunning turn of speed in the narrow forests!

Going into the overnight halt Marty commented “It been a good start to the day, that stage was very tricky but I found a good rhythm in the dark and was able to push on” “We are 4th tonight which is a great place to push on from tomorrow!”

Saturday morning and 8 gruelling tests lay ahead, the first of which Marty knew he had to push on “We have to keep the pace up this morning to keep with the boys in the front” and that is just what he did. The TigerRisk car secured its fourth-place over the opening two tests of the day firmly cementing them in contention for the podium. Back in service, the McGeehan Motorsport Team bolted a set of Speedline rims and 4 new Kumho tyres onto the car for another attack at the Scottish stages.
Through stages five and six Marty hunted down third place man, Osian Pryce, closing the gap to four and a half seconds with four stages to go. But he would have to keep an eye on his mirrors as Keith Cronin was nipping at his heels.

Running wide on a corner on stage seven allowed Cronin to slip ahead. Cronin would maintain a slim advantage into the next service with Marty commenting ” Keith is just ahead of us now but there is nothing in it, we will go on a big push on the last two (stages) to try and regain the place!” The battle for the last podium spot was well and truly on!

Cronin went on the attack on stage 9 pulling a further 1.9 seconds out of Marty leaving the gap at 5.7 seconds. The TigerRisk Team would have to dig deep over the final 8-mile stage to reel in Cronin.

The Škoda Fabia R5 blasted into the test and the determination was palpable to see. Marty threaded the car through the stage at lightning pace to cross the finish line in a time of 7 minutes 12.6 seconds. The average speed through the stage was a hard to believe 68mph and as Cronin crossed the line it was evident they had done enough. A staggering 13.7 quicker was enough to vault them ahead of Cronin in the standings and when rally leader Fredrick Åhlin failed to finish the stage they inherited another place to put them on the podium in Dumfries.

It was an excellent event for the team showing great pace throughout and with the next rally in the championship one of Marty’s favourites, Rally Ypres in Belgium. Rally Ypres is a welcome addition to the British Rally Championship and it’s an event that Marty is very familiar with, competing there twice before.

“I am really looking forward to going back to Ypres, it a superb event with a great atmosphere.” ” The Belgium roads seem to suit me as a driver” “The locals will be hard to beat, but I will be giving it my all!”

With Marty now holding 4th place in the British Rally Championship standings, Rally Ypres which takes place from the 22nd to the 23rd of June will be one to capitalise on to move closer towards the top of the championship. Keep an eye on this site for further updates on Marty’s BRC bid, as well as on Twitter @martymccormack and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/marty.mccormack1. Marty is competing this season with the support of Tiger Risk Partners and P. McCormack and Sons Ltd.

The post McCormack flies high at the Scottish Rally! appeared first on Kumho Tyre UK.

In the past weekend the InMotion student team, which is supported by Kumho, set up a new electric circuit record on the Circuit Zandvoort, Netherlands. The IM / e improved with its time of 1.48.371 the previous record by more than 16 seconds.

Breaking lap records! The team has been working for 18 months. Part of this vision now is reality. The IM / e, currently probably the fastest full electric race car in the world, holds the current record for electrically powered driving on the 4.32 kilometer circuit in the Dutch Zandvoort. After successful tests at the beginning of 2017 the Dutch driver Beitske Visser set a new best time on the last Whitsunday Day.

“It was fun setting the record and hopefully it won’t be beaten for a while. The team will develop the car even further so hopefully we can go even faster,” Visser told after the record. “The car feels like any other, but the experience is different because you hear the wind. The handling of the car is good and it has a lot of torque, which is fun. At the straight we reached 240 km/h.”

“The team has worked so hard in the past years and then finally we reached this moment: we’ve got the record”, team manager Bram Hooimeijer said. “The car set a terrific performance and we know it can go even faster. So we continue to optimise the setup and will be improving the powertrain. And with this knowledge we will develop the IM01. With this vehicle we want to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.“

The ambition of the young racing team is a start in the garage 56 class for technical innovations at the legendary 24h race of Le Mans. On that way, InMotion and Kumho set an intermediate stop at the Nürburgring – here is also the goal, beat the electric redord.

All experience with the full-electric IM/e will then flow into a new hybrid car. With the IM01, the Dutch want to finally brake the Nürburgring record of 6: 11.13 minutes set by Stefan Bellof in 1983 for the 20.8 kilometer long north loop. If this hurdle is taken, Le Mans is nothing more in the way. Kumho supports the team on this path.

Technical details of IM/e

With two high-performance engines that pull their 557 horsepower (410 kW) from a 200 kg battery pack, the IM/e reaches a top speed of 280 km/h and achieves the sprint from zero to 100 km/h in three seconds. With Kumho racing tyres from the ECSTA family excellent handling is guaranteed.

Zandvoort 03-04.06.2017 Pinksterraces Zandvoort. Foto: chris Schotanus

The post Kumho Partner InMotion Improves Electric Round Record In Zandvoort appeared first on Kumho Tyre UK.

The Road Venture MT51 is our latest mud-terrain offering for 4×4 vehicles. It has very deliberately been designed to fit below the company’s extreme off-road pattern, the well-established Road Venture MT KL71, and therefore combines great off-road capability with a very impressive level of on-road performance; not least first class braking on both gravel and tarmac.

MT51 achieves its notable degree of mud-terrain traction courtesy of zigzag grooves and a robust shoulder design. Other salient features include shoulder notching for effective rock crawling performance, a sidewall bitter to minimise the risk of puncture, a tread pattern designed to optimise the rejection of mud and stones, and sipes to assist with the advent of snow.

The newcomer is currently available in 12 popular sizes to suit 4x4s equipped with wheel rims of 15, 16 and 17 inches in diameter. The aggressive sidewall motif is designed to complement the professional environment of heavy equipment in which the MT51 is quite likely to find itself, and carries both M + S and snowflake markings.

The post MT51 combines great off-road capability with impressive on-road performance appeared first on Kumho Tyre UK.

The American not-for-profit consumer watchdog organisation Consumer Reports has awarded 2^nd place in its SUV tyre category to the Kumho Crugen Premium KL33. The commendation followed 12 months of testing by tyre experts acting on behalf of the organisation and is a clear recommendation to consumers to purchase the product. The tyre scored especially well on general handling, driving comfort, lack of rolling noise and excellence of traction.

The Kumho Crugen Premium LK33

Such qualities have already made the pattern a popular aftermarket choice among SUV drivers around the world, and also with manufacturers for OE fitment – Chrysler Jeep equips versions of its much vaunted Renegade model with 225/55/R18 98H and 215/60 R17 100V sizes, while Hyundai fits 235/60 R18 103H and 235/55 R19 101H examples to its Grand Santa Fe offering.

The Kumho name is well-known in the USA where the company is a major supplier of tyres to the booming crossover and SUV markets, as well as the premier sponsor of the National Basketball Association. Its products are highly regarded in the country, many of which are these days home-grown at Kumho’s major new manufacturing plant at Macon in Georgia. For products it recommends, which now includes the Kumho Crugen Premium KL33, Consumer Reports refers potential customers to appropriate e-commerce websites.

The KL33’s asymmetric tread is of four groove design for optimum aquaplaning suppression, while 3D shoulder blocks ably aid wet weather grip. Balanced traction characteristics are guaranteed in both wet and dry conditions. Here in the UK it is currently available for rims of 17 to 19 inches in diameter and a mix of H and V speed ratings.

The post Thumbs-up for the Crugen Premium KL33 from Consumer Reports appeared first on Kumho Tyre UK.

Numerous new size options have been added to the range of our latest all-season tyre, the Solus HA31, bringing the total as high as 90. It is the ideal pattern for drivers of passenger cars and SUVs seeking optimum performance and reliability in all weathers. It features lateral grooves for enhanced wet road performance, honeycomb structure 3D sipes for maximum traction on snowy surfaces, a directional tread pattern with S-SBR technology for an exceptional balance between wet grip, fuel economy and wear rate, and reinforced centre rib and tread blocks for improved braking performance.

HA31 is now available in sizes of 13 to 18 inch and the recent additions to the range cover most of the SUVs now so popular in the UK market, as well as a wide spectrum of passenger cars. Unlike dedicated winter tyres, our all-season products are manufactured all the year round, so supply can be quickly adjusted to meet consumer demand.

We are an established supplier of cold and all-weather tyres for the more traditional winter tyre markets of Scandinavia and Central Europe, where its comprehensive range of products is very highly regarded.

The post 90 Different Sizes for the All-Season Solus HA31 appeared first on Kumho Tyre UK.

It was quite the weekend for Hermen Kobus & team at the 2017 Ypres Rally, with an impressive 5th place finish overall. He took on the rally using our new TM02 rally tyres, which helped in securing a good time on the track.

Instead of listening to us talk about it, hear all the action from the man himself! Check out the video report below:

The post Video Report of Kobus & Team’s Fifth Place Finish at Ypres shod in the TM02 appeared first on Kumho Tyre UK.

Winning international design awards has become something of a habit for us, and for the second consecutive year it is guaranteed a prize in the automotive and transport category of America’s International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA).

The product that attracted the judge’s approval this time around is the ‘Birth On Nature’ (BON) tyre. Instead of air on which conventional tyres rely for their form, the BON’s configuration was inspired by nature’s bone structure. Mimicking such atypical voronoi architecture as the shape of leaf cells and the honeycomb, it achieves the required level of structural stability and economic efficiency without the need for any form of inflation.

A delighted Jeong Taek-Gyun, the senior managing director of Kumho’s R&D headquarters said: “It is very rewarding that Kumho’s latest example of futuristic design and technology has been recognised by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), and means Kumho becomes the first passenger tyre manufacturer to win all three of the world’s top design accolades – Germany’s Red Dot and iF Design and America’s IDEA awards – two years in a row.”

The post SECOND CONSECUTIVE IDEA AWARD FOR KUMHO appeared first on Kumho Tyre UK.

The vast majority of new UK specification cars are delivered on what are classed as Summer tyres, which provide these vehicles with optimum performance for most of a typical British year – in fact until the temperature drops below 7 deg C, at which point the tread compound begins to harden and grip levels fall. The ultimate solution is two sets of tyres – one for Summer and one for Winter, but this is expensive, and also impractical for those without adequate storage facilities. The perfect compromise is a quality all-season pattern that will work in all weathers, and Kumho’s innovative Solus HA31 is by far its best such tyre to date, and ideal for drivers of both passenger cars and SUVs seeking safe all-round performance throughout the year, irrespective of the weather conditions.

It features: lateral grooves for enhanced wet road grip; honeycomb structure 3D sipes for maximum traction on snowy surfaces; a directional tread pattern with the latest S-SBR technology for an exceptional balance between wet grip, fuel economy and wear rate; and reinforced centre rib and tread blocks for improved braking performance.

HA31 is now available in no less than 90 different sizes to suit rims from 13 to 18 inches in diameter, and the recent additions to the range cover most of the SUVs now so popular in the UK market, as well as a wide spectrum of passenger cars. Unlike dedicated winter tyres, Kumho’s all-season products are manufactured all the year round, so supply can be quickly adjusted to meet consumer demand.

Kumho is an established supplier of cold and all-weather tyres for the more traditional winter tyre markets of Scandinavia and Central Europe, where its comprehensive range of products is very highly regarded.

The post INNOVATIVE ALL-SEASON SOLUS HA31 ENSURES DRIVERS ARE ON THE RIGHT TYRE ALL YEAR ROUND appeared first on Kumho Tyre UK.

• Latest generation Polo equipped with the Kumho Ecowing ES01 KH27
• Kumho’s low rolling resistance tyre is designed for optimum fuel economy

We’ve got some exciting news!

All new Volkswagen Polo will be leaving the factory equipped with Kumho tyres. Already a supplier for the fifth generation of the model, we are now supplying the Ecowing ES01 KH27 in 185/65 R15 88H size for fitment to the sixth generation cars that are being manufactured at Volkswagen’s plant in Pamplona, Spain.

The KH27 has been especially developed to meet the needs of compact and medium sized vehicles and is characterised by its notably low rolling resistance – the low fuel consumption and equally low rate of wear that result, have already been duly acknowledged in one of the highly-renowned ADAC tyre tests (ADAC Motorwelt 03/2016).

The post Kumho Standard Fit on the New Volkswagen Polo appeared first on Kumho Tyre UK.

Read the full report below.
 
For the first time this season, the Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship and the Fuchs Lubricants R.A.C. Historic Asphalt Championship came together on the same event and a mighty battle for top Fuchs points raged between Smith/Cook and Neil Williams/Sion Jones in their Ford Escort Mk2s. After a tremendous day-long battle on Epynt, Cook took the championship maximum by just five seconds.
 
The Fuchs Lubricants R.A.C. Historic Asphalt Rally Championship is organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club and is a dedicated asphalt championship for all categories of historic stage rally cars. 
 
There was little to choose between Smith and Williams across five long and fast stages and heading into the final stage Williams had a one-second advantage. However, a big attack by Smith turned the tables and he won by five seconds. “We bent the steering rack on a big jump on stage two, but we changed it at service and it has been a really good day,” said Smith. “It has been a fantastic dice and the car has been perfect: I’ve not had a battle like that for a long time,” said Williams after another storming Epynt performance. 
 
There was another big battle for third among the R.A.C. contenders as Roger Moran/Keaton Williams (BMW M3) headed Guy Woodcock/Dave Williams (Escort Mk2) by five seconds. Moran had a trouble-free day in the crowd-pleasing BMW while Woodcock was settling back in to the Escort after a gap of 10 months.
 
Close behind Moran and Woodcock came one of the drives of the rally from David Kynaston and Jack Bowen in the mighty Triumph TR7 V8. They pushed hard and set some impressive stage times to finish ahead of the BMW M3 of Paul Smith/Tudor Jenkins and the Escort Mk2 of Barry Stevenson-Wheeler/John Pickavance. “I loved it,” said Smith after only his second rally. “It’s all coming together.”
 
Dick Mauger/Geno Gouveia (Escort Mk2) joined the championship runners for the first time and finished just ahead of another day-long battle as Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911) headed Graham Patten/Pauline Hale (Datsun 240Z) by six seconds. Nutt had a clear run while Patten really enjoyed his first Epynt event. “I love it and will come back,” he said.
 
Results for the Harry Flatters Rally are here: http://www.rallyroots.com/

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After possibly one of the most difficult events of the year, Marty McCormack and David Moynihan can hold their heads high as they reached the finish of the John Mulholland Motors Ulster Rally in 4th place.

The event which is based in the walled city of Derry consisted of 14 stages in the surrounding area. The narrow Northern Irish roads were treacherously slippy with heavy farming activity prior to the event the lanes were strewn with mud, adding to the difficulty. Following a big accident at the Ypres Rally, The McGeehan Motorsport team were tasked with fully rebuilding the TigerRisk Skoda Fabia R5 in preparation for the Ulster Rally. To shakedown the car Marty completed a pre event test at the Tyrone Stages Rally where he finished 2nd overall. “It was really nice to get back into the Skoda at the Tyrone Stages, we had a good run there and finished 2nd overall, it was a good shakedown for the Ulster as the roads and the conditions were quite similar”

The Ulster Rally started with an 11 mile run over the Holly Hill test where the TigerRisk team bedded into the rally with an 8th quickest time. This put them right in the mix of the top British Rally Championship crews. Marty & David followed this up with 2 more strong times before service to move them into 6th overall. Marty commented at first service “The stages are unbelievably tricky, we could have been higher up the standings was it not for a puncture on stage 2, that held us up a bit but we are happy with where we are [6th overall]”

With a change to the roll bars to aid with traction on the slippy roads, the pair headed out to the next loop of stages where a nip tuck battle with Desi Henry would ensue. Through stage 4 Desi snatched 6th place, but Marty responded on SS5 taking it back. Marty held the advantage before the overnight halt in Derry at the end of the first day. “It’s been a difficult day, the grip levels were all over the place and it made it very hard to push, but we are here and in 6th place. We will have a good push tomorrow and see if we can catch Sam Moffett”

Day 2 of the event consisted of 8 more stages totalling over 84 miles, starting with the Slievekirk test. Marty & David had a good run through the stage, closing the gap to Sam Moffett to 6.2 seconds. Following a quick service, 3 more stages lay ahead of the crews but it wasn’t going to be easy for the TigerRisk Team. A big spin on stage 8 cost some time but Marty finally got the upper hand over Moffett on stage 9 ‘Barnes Gap’ where he took a 2-second advantage over him. Marty’s pace continued to increase eventually claiming the fastest time of the rally on the penultimate stage! Come the finish ramp in Derry City Marty & David claimed 4th overall in the event and a podium finish in the British Rally Championship.

This puts the Tiger Risk Skoda in 4th place in the British Rally Championship standing, 9 points behind Osian Pryce in 3rd. With championship points available on both day of the final event of the championship the Isle of Man Rally a podium position in the championship is still on the cards for the team.

The next rally for the Marty is his local Sunset Stages Rally based in Draperstown. Marty will have his niece Caron along side for the event, the last time the pairing were together they won the Tour of the Sperrins Rally can they do the same again? For more information about the event keep up to date on Marty’s social media channels. Twitter @martymccormack and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/marty.mccormack1. Marty is competing this season with the support of Tiger Risk Partners and P. McCormack and Sons Ltd.

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County Derry-born Marty McCormack is enjoying a notably strong season in the Prestone MSA British Rally Championship and, with a typically skilful showing and trouble-free run in the last remaining round, could well achieve a well-deserved podium finish in this hard-fought series.

His season in the Kumho-shod Skoda Fabia R5 began with a DNF due to suspension problems on the Border Counties event. He and trusty co-driver David Moynihan then put themselves firmly in the hunt for championship honours with a 3^rd place in both the Pirelli International and Scottish rallies. A heavy accident left them without points from the Ypres Rally and, more seriously, without their usual mount while it was being fully rebuilt by McGeehan Motorsport. Under the circumstances 4^th place on the ensuing Nicky Grist event aboard a borrowed Ford Fiesta R5 was a rewarding result.

“Both Marty and the Skoda are clearly on song right now, and it only needs a little bit of luck to see him end the year in the style we have come to expect of this seasoned competitor.” Kumho Motorsport’s Steve Thompson.

In preparation for the recent Ulster Rally, McCormack shook-down the rejuvenated Fabia by contesting the non-championship Tyrone Stages Rally, in which he finished an encouraging 2^nd overall. As is so often the case in Irish tarmac rallies, the grip levels on the Ulster one were unpredictable throughout but, following a big spin on stage 8, Marty continued to grow in confidence and claimed the fastest time of all on the penultimate stage to finish in 4^th place. This left him 4^th overall in the championship standings, just nine points behind Fiesta R5 driver Osian Pryce. With further points available on both days of the final round on the Isle of Man (September 14-16), McCormack still has everything to play for.

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