ERJ Top Five: Tire Supply News

ERJ staff report (TP)

Pirelli ... Michelin ... Toyo Tires ... Sumitomo Rubber Industries ... Yokohama Rubber

1. Pirelli unveiled a new Sport Dragon tire (pictured above) to suit 250/300cc LAMS motorcycles in Australia. Sport Dragon is designed for medium and low displacement motorcycles, and for riders using their bikes for urban commuting and sports-touring. The front tire has "more pronounced tread grooves in order to cut through the water layer more efficiently, clearing the road surface for the rear tire". Pirelli said this allows Sport Dragon to increase the contact patch in the middle of the rear tire, which "allows for better traction and improved mileage".

2. Staff from the Michelin Training Centre in Stoke-on-Trent, UK held their third agricultural tire fitting course in Scotland in just over 12 months, following "unprecedented demand" from local dealers. The two day course is designed to give technicians new to the agricultural sector detailed information and skills to ensure they can fit farm tires across a variety of machines – from tractors, combines and sprayers, to farm trailers, telehandlers and skid-steers. The latest training course was held at Michelin’s factory in Dundee, Scotland. Michelin runs its agricultural tire fitting course about three times a year in Stoke-on-Trent. The next one is scheduled to run on 12-13 November 2014. 

3. Toyo Tires announced the start of a series of branding initiatives through its support of Italian football team AC Milanas a premium sponsor. The start of the Serie A Italian professional football league 2014-2015 season began on 30 August. In April 2014, Toyo Tires became the first Japanese company to sign a premium sponsorship agreement with AC Milan.

4. Sumitomo Rubber Industries has begun delivering its Dunlop GRANDTREK ST30 SUV tires to the Toyota Motor Corporation for use in their new Lexus NX SUVs, which Toyota launched in July. As the factory standard tire, SRI said the GRANDTREK ST30 uses an asymmetrical tread pattern for tire rigidity on both sides.

5. Yokohama Rubber confirmed it will continue its partnership with the MK Dons football club in the UK. 2014/15 will mark the eighth season the company has supported the League One club with its sponsorship. This season has already got off to a "great start": the Dons recently toppled Louis Van Gaal’s Manchester United team in the 2nd round of the Capital One Cup, beating the visiting side 4-0 and "raising eyebrows throughout the football and sporting communities around the world".