BFGoodrich® Tires takes the green flag as 2011 begins with a multi-faceted partnership with Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), the premier amateur racing organization in the U.S.  With this partnership, BFGoodrich Tires is named the “Official Street Tire” of the SCCA and is presenting the prestigious multi-race “Super Tour.” BFGoodrich Tires and SCCA are also developing special programs including prizes for workers, a racer contingency program and street-tire programs, as well as providing engineering and marketing support for all of the company’s products. “The passion of SCCA members and BFGoodrich Tires is one and the same...

Nitto Tire U.S.A. and sponsored driver, John Urist, entered the 2010 NMRA drag racing season with four consecutive wins to their credit. Despite having the most wins in Super Street Outlaw class history, the team entered the season finale as an underdog, trailing first-place leader John Macdonald by 160 points. Through John’s good fortune, he ended the day victorious, making him the 2010 champion in one of the closest points races in class history. In commemoration of his victory, Urist will be awarded the coveted Nitto Champion Diamond Tree™ Ring. With this win Urist becomes the only driver in NMRA history to win five consecutive championships. This is his sixth career win.

As performance-oriented drivers begin to prepare for the upcoming winter season, they look for tire options designed to handle the harshest climates.  To answer their needs, BFGoodrich® Tires introduces the Winter Slalom® KSI tire, with cutting edge technology designed to connect with extreme winter surfaces, including those favorite curvy roads BFGoodrich Tires’ enthusiasts love in summer, but in winter are covered in snow and ice.  Providing excellent braking performance and maximum grip, the BFGoodrich Winter Slalom KSI is designed to give drivers control during the toughest winter conditions.

When Chad Gilsinger won his first-ever Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) National Runoffs Championship in his Touring 3-class BFGoodrich® g-Force™ R1™-shod Honda S2000 at Road America, he thought he was at the pinnacle of his motorsports career.  That was until the Honda engineer realized that he had also won the unique BFGoodrich Tires SCCA contingency prize – a spot on BFGoodrich Tires/Wide Open Excursions “Baja Challenge” (BC) race team in the 43rd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.  The legendary off-road event, to be held Nov. 18 – 21, is on the “bucket list” of most racers, and this year will mark BFGoodrich Tires’ 35th anniversary of toughness, grip and acceleration conquering the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.

Nerves and anticipation ran high this weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) as BFGoodrich® Tires made an impressive splash at the first ever U.S. RallyCar RallyCross event. BFGoodrich Tires dominated the marquee All-Wheel Drive (AWD) class as drivers took advantage of the grip, acceleration and toughness of their BFGoodrich tires sweeping all three podium spots, with X Games champion Tanner Foust (Ford) coming in first, closely followed by Travis Pastrana (Subaru) and Dave Mirra (Subaru).

The heart pounding, high-flying, side-by-side action known as Rallycross is ready for its inaugural debut this coming weekend and BFGoodrich® Tires is once again ready to dominate.  After rocking the Rally Car Racing and SuperRally Car competitions at X Games 16, BFGoodrich Tires is looking to make championship traction again at America’s newest motorsport, the RallyCar U.S. Rallycross Championship.  Taking place at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) on Aug. 28-29, the blend of circuit racing, off-road racing and rally competition will give fans high-impact action and excitement, as well as give BFGoodrich Tires another opportunity to truly show its stuff.  NJMP’s jumps, unbanked turns, hills and transitions between pavement and gravel will allow BFGoodrich Tires to showcase the grip, acceleration and toughness that has led to 17 of 20 X Games Rally Car Racing and SuperRally medals.

Extreme grip, acceleration and toughness once again reigned supreme as BFGoodrich® Tires shattered records at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum this past weekend at X Games 16.  Competitors running BFGoodrich tires swept the podiums of both rally disciplines, Rally Car and SuperRally, winning six of seven medals, including both gold medals. Since Rally Car started as an X Games contest five years ago, competitors running BFGoodrich tires have won 17 of 20 podium spots. “During tire testing, racers said they wanted grip for the elevation changes, acceleration for the straightaways and a tire tough enough to land 70-foot jumps,” said Roberts Kukainis, motorsports manager, BFGoodrich Tires.

What does a pneumatic wrench, a window washer and a tree frog have in common?  Launching today, BFGoodrich® Tires’ new national advertising campaign will answer that question.  While the company hopes this campaign will have consumers “jumping” into stores to purchase a new set of tires, it is not the reason they are showcasing a tree frog.  Instead, the company is focusing on the characteristics of the amphibian to illustrate the grip of new set of BFGoodrich tires.  Other animal metaphors throughout the campaign will bring the company’s message home, enabling consumers to understand just how easy it is to bolt on grip, acceleration and toughness to their vehicles.

The Weather-Master WSC (which stands for Winter and Snow Confidence) represents the next generation of tires designed to deliver superior winter performance. This tire’s unique directional design, combined with a high silica tread compound, is ideally suited for the toughest winter conditions. The WSC was developed for drivers of newer SUVs, CUVs, smaller pickups and some passenger car applications looking for improved traction on winter’s slushy and snow-covered roads. Applications include but are not limited to the BMW X3, Lexus RX350/450, Mazda 3 and 5, Lincoln MKS, Toyota Rav-4 Sport, Nissan Murano and Ford Explorer Ltd. 

To emphasise further the sporting attributes of the new Type VIII forged alloy wheels, we can now offer the new “ContiForceContact“ event tyres for BMW vehicles. This new development by Continental in collaboration with reputable tuners is characterised above all by high steering precision and good driveability even in the wet. As a result, constantly fast lap times are guaranteed. Of course the ContiForceContact tyres feel just as good on public roads, because as well as the positive driving qualities, they are also legal for use in road traffic. ContiForceContact event tyres for BMW vehicles are available exclusively from AC Schnitzer. The enclosed list shows which wheel sizes and tyre combinations are available for the individual vehicles.

In a close cooperation with TECHART Automobildesign, Continental developed a performance tire, which is specially designed for sport driven use: the ContiForceContact. After more than two years of development, numerous rubber compounds, various construction designs as well as countless test drive kilometers with the TECHART GTStreet based on the Porsche 911 Turbo, the demands of TECHART and Continental on the common tire development project were fulfilled: a road-legal tire which can be driven with extraordinary steering precision, featuring well-defined limits and which allows the vehicle to perform to its full potential.

BFGoodrich® Tires today announced the list of 27 charter members inducted into its exclusive TeamBFG program for 2010. Through this program, BFGoodrich Tires recognizes and supports the top motorsports superstars, key industry partners, influencers and brand enthusiasts who share BFGoodrich Tires’ passion for motorsports. TeamBFG is a diverse coalition of auto enthusiasts dedicated to the pursuit of GO.  They represent various aspects of the automotive industry, including on- and off-road racing, rock crawling, custom car building and engineering, among others, and are constantly featured on television, in books, magazines and on websites worldwide.

Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO), in cooperation with General Motors (GM), debuted two new fitments on GMC and Cadillac concept vehicles at the 2010 North American International Auto Show, which started Jan. 11 in Detroit. The GMC Granite sports concept Dueler(tm) 245/40R20 tires. The Granite is a small, highly versatile, premium four-door crossover. The U.S. designed and produced Dueler tires feature a unique asymmetrical tread pattern that provides solid traction while also complimenting the vehicle’s ultramodern style. The Granite won the EyesOn Design Award for Best Concept Vehicle during the show’s opening media days.

Porsche Works Driver Wolf Henzler and returning Team Falken Driver Bryan Sellers will lead the tire company’s expanded race program, driving a brand new 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the full nine-event American Le Mans Series GT2 class. This will be the third year for Team Falken, and its most aggressive to date.  “We’re using the ALMS to compete against our competitors as well as utilize the highly organized race program as a formal testing ground for continued tire development,” said Mark Richter, Falken Senior Manager of Dealer Marketing.  “As we compete throughout the season, we will build upon race and test data learned from our efforts with last year’s Porsche.”

Nitto Tire and sponsored driver Ryan Gates recently clenched the 2009 Redline Time Attack series championship. The team competed in the Modified All-Wheel Drive (AWD) class, which requires all drivers to use off-the-shelf, street legal tires. Using Nitto’s NT01 road race radials equipped on a Mitsubishi Evo X, the team attended seven of the eight events and won each event they attended. This is Nitto’s first Redline Time Attack championship.