On the 12th and 13th of June, the FIA European Truck Racing Championship (ETRC) will begin at the Hungaroring in Hungary. For the seven-event, 30-race season, fifteen championship candidates will line up on the grid, all of whom will be wearing specially engineered Goodyear truck racing tyres. Jochen Hahn, a six-time champion, leads the field for Iveco, while Norbert Kiss, a two-time champion, pilots his MAN.
Goodyear is happy to continue its support of emerging talent in the FIA European Truck Racing Championship with the continuance of the Goodyear Cup, which promotes tomorrow's star drivers. Former champions and the top eight drivers from the previous season are not eligible for the Goodyear Cup, which is solely open to ETRC's less experienced drivers. This allows up-and-coming racers to gain greater media attention while also competing for their own prizes and points.
Maciej Szymanski, Marketing Director for Goodyear Commercial Europe: "Goodyear is at the forefront of global motorsport, we have a long standing commitment to the ETRC and we are proud to be able to take a role in promoting and celebrating up and coming talent. The Goodyear Cup will bring more attention to these future stars, their sponsors and partners."
Rolf Werner, Managing Director at ETRA: "We are very pleased to welcome Goodyear again as the title sponsor of the Promoter's Cup. Goodyear has been a valued long-term partner and the extension of their commitment in the Chrome driver category is a strong signal in difficult times that underlines their support of the sport."
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Learning from the racetrack
The Goodyear truck racing tyre features the same 315/70R22.5 size and carcass technology as many of Goodyear's on-road tyres, but it has an asymmetrical shape. The design has been tweaked to achieve the best pressure distribution on the ground, as well as increased strength and performance. The 5.1 mm grooves allow for quick water evacuation, but when combined with a rigid structure and an 89 percent tread to tarmac contact area, they provide the best dry grip, braking, and traction available.
These racing tires are developed by the same team that works on Goodyear's high technology truck tires including the acclaimed KMAX-GEN 2 and FUELMAX-GEN 2 ranges. "This means the learnings from the racetrack and the road can easily and quickly transfer between the respective experts to help maintain Goodyear's leadership position in truck tire development. On the road, Goodyear's truck tires have to cope with high mileage fleets, have the strength and durability to reduce downtime, as well as heavy urban stop-start use. These tires use technology cascaded from Goodyear's ETRC experience. Racing gives our engineers an insight into how advanced materials respond to high-speed kerb impacts, high temperatures, heavy braking, and huge torque figures," added Szymanski.
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Pan-European racing
The ETRC format of four action-packed races will be seen at the Hungaroring weekend. The championship then moves to Germany for two four-race rounds at the Nurburgring, followed by races in Most (Czech Republic), Zolder (Belgium), Le Mans (France), Jarama (Spain), and Misano (Italy) (Italy).
Because of its proximity to major towns, neighbouring countries, and its location just 20 kilometres from Budapest, the Hungaroring is one of the most popular events on the ETRC schedule for fans. The ETRC attracts a large number of spectators who are pulled in by the noise and drama of a crowded grid of race-ready 1,500 horsepower trucks, all of which are based on road-going 4x2 tractor units. The ETRC weekend will be one of the first worldwide motorsport events to be allowed to welcome fans back through the gates in 2021, thanks to thorough COVID-19 testing and measures. This month marks the 35th anniversary of the Hungaroring's first Formula One Grand Prix, which was won by Nelson Piquet in his Goodyear-shod Williams.
