Goodyear has been named as the official tyre and a founding partner for the first electric touring car series – Pure ETCR.
Pure ETCR
The American tyre company are in the process of developing a unique tyre for Pure ETCR which will combine the technology of their Eagle F1 SuperSport ultra-high performance and current electric vehicle tyre.
The design will be revealed to the public in spring 2020, prior to the first Pure ETCR race later in the year.
More Sustainable Motorsport
As the main goals of Pure ETCR is to create a greener, more sustainable motorsport, reducing waste is key. Therefore, slicks will not be used so that the tyre can be effective in both dry and wet conditions, lowering the number of tyres produced for each event.
Mike Rytokoski, Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer, Goodyear Europe, said: “Goodyear is a leader in electric vehicle tyre development. In Europe, half of our original equipment tyre developments are for EVs and hybrids.
“We bring a great deal of experience to ETCR in developing tyres for electric vehicles. High-performance road electric vehicles have very different needs to their petrol or diesel equivalents. They are heavier and have more torque, delivered immediately. Goodyear has developed tyres that can cope with this instant power delivery, delivering high grip and traction hand in hand with low rolling resistance to increase range and efficiency. Our partnership with Pure ETCR is much more than just supplying race tyres. Together, we will use racing to develop technology to thrill the next generation of high-performance driver.”
2020 Season
Promotion for Pure ETCR will be handled by Eurosport Events, the same company behind the FIA World Touring Car Cup, which coincidentally Goodyear will also provide tyres for this 2020 season.
The Pure ETCR championship will consist of a number of short races leading up to a Grand Final in order to keep the stakes high and racing relentless. By reducing the number of laps, fuel consumption and tyre depredation are no longer an issue so drivers can push their car to the limit.
In turn Goodyear are focusing on producing a compound with a fast warm-up time and endurance, to be raced hard throughout the event. This will allow drivers to put maximum power to the road from the very first lap.
Eurosport Events Says
François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the Pure ETCR promoter, said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Goodyear to Pure ETCR as a founding partner of the series. Goodyear has a unique racing legacy and is all about performance and innovation; a perfect partner for our new modern electric racing flagship. This venture perfectly complements our partnership with Goodyear in WTCR, which we also expect to be highly successful. With a bespoke high-performance, all-weather design, fewer tyres need to be produced for Pure ETCR and this aligns perfectly with our sustainability commitments. We have no doubt that Goodyear will be a first-class partner on the technical and marketing fronts of Pure ETCR, a great platform to activate Goodyear #backtoracing.”
Goodyear are throwing themselves back into the world of motorsport at the deep end, having taken on the responsibility of providing tyres for the FIA World Touring Car Cup, BTCC, and supplying tyres to a number of European Le Mans teams.
It seems the company are keen to re-establish their name as an industry leader, and a rival to the current tyre heavyweights of motorsport – Pirelli and Michelin.
