Tyres, etc

The USA is headed back to the Moon in a couple of years and several other countries have landed vehicles on the lunar surface. Pirelli hasn’t been there and – as far as we know – isn’t planning a mission, but the Italian brand comments that the Pirelli tyres used over the course of the 24 Grands Prix in this longest ever Formula 1 season covered a distance that almost would reach the Moon “on an imaginary road linking our planet to its only natural satellite.”

When seeking out the company which first marketed a tyre intended for winter conditions, it makes sense to start your search in a region that’s no stranger to snow and ice. Finland fits the bill nicely, and Nokian Tyres has long occupied the superlative first place in the winter tyre world with its Kelirengas – literally ‘weather tyre’. But was it really first?

TyreSafe, the UK’s tyre safety charity, is running its ‘Keep Your Tyres in Good ‘Elf’ campaign for a second year this December. The initiative features Santa’s elves performing a range of tyre checks and providing fun and engaging reminders about the importance of road safety during the festive period. In 2023, the ‘Keep Your Tyres in Good ‘Elf’ campaign appeared on bus backs, websites, and social media thanks to the participation of TyreSafe supporters. Winter driving poses heightened risks, from slippery surfaces to heavier vehicle loads. While light-hearted in approach, the campaign emphasises a critical message – road users must ACT on tyre safety.

Essential to all sports, adrenaline helps athletes to push themselves to new limits. This reaches a truly intense level in F1, amplified by a combination of extreme speed, ever-present risk and fierce competition. Adrenaline works on a physiological level and for a racing driver it helps them face the challenges on every lap, in every corner and during every overtaking move. It can also fuel the motivation of those who have maybe moved on from sitting in the cockpit or on the pitwall and now steer a Formula 1 team, chasing the same goal as the drivers, namely winning. This is why Pirelli, the exclusive tyre supplier to Formula 1, has made Adrenaline the focus of its latest Box Box Box vodcast, in which host Tom Clarkson talks to leading F1 personalities, Christian Horner, Laurent Mekies, and Nico Hulkenberg on the topic.

Tyres are now featured within the ‘Safer Lives, Stronger Nation: The National Accident Prevention Strategy (NAPS) Report’. The report brings critical attention to vehicle defects as an overlooked cause of road collisions. Drivers already have a legal requirement to ensure the roadworthiness of their tyres. However, the large and increasing number of illegal tyres on the roads and MOT failures due to defective tyres suggests that too many do not give them adequate attention. Road safety organisation TyreSafe has called for greater recognition that defective tyres require more attention, and hails their inclusion in the report as a "pivotal change" in national road safety strategy.

Since 2019, Pirelli tyres have contributed to numerous lap records at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with vehicles ranging from electric supercars to SUVs and compact hatchbacks utilising Pirelli’s high-performance tyre range to achieve record-breaking times. Across these varied categories, Pirelli’s P Zero range has been instrumental in setting competitive lap times at this demanding circuit.

Top Cat famously lived in a dustbin, but none of his feline gang ever chose to set up digs within a rolling road brake tester. But this is precisely the new home that one kitten decided upon. Elite Garages shares the story of a memorable encounter for the team at its Maidstone centre.

A shocking new study suggests UK motorists are putting lives at risk due to an alarming lack of tyre safety knowledge. As the only point of contact with the road, checking and maintaining tyres is essential in ensuring the roadworthiness of the vehicle and optimising the safety of all road users. Yet fewer than a fifth (19 per cent) of those surveyed check their tyre tread depth every month, which is the recommended frequency.

As the winter months bring more challenging driving conditions like heavy rain, sleet, snow, and high winds, TyreSafe is launching the ‘Home Safely for Winter’ campaign. This new initiative calls on road users to ACT on tyre safety, a small but essential step that could mean the difference between arriving safely and facing hazardous incidents on the road. The campaign will compliment, support and coincide with Brake’s Road Safety Week, which runs from the 17-23 November. The campaign also reinforces the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC)’s initiatives which highlight the additional driving hazards present during the winter months. ‘Operation Dark Night’ and ‘Operation Limit’, running in November and December respectively, demonstrate the additional enforcement resources applied during the winter months to promote safer road use, including vehicle maintenance and driving standards.