Confidence with a capital D: Dunlop snare tyre deal
20/7/2001 22:24 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Dunlop is back in the V8 Supercar game tonight after snaring the sport’s lucrative tyre contract from Bridgestone.
South Pacific Tyres’ bid for the right for Dunlop to be the sport’s preferred choice of rubber has been successful, AVESCO announced tonight.
Dunlop will supply the category-wide control tyre to V8 Supercar teams from next season, for the next three years.
While Bridgestone’s proposal to retrain the contract it has held since 1999 was strong, Dunlop’s tender was the more attractive, AVESCO CEO Wayne Cattach said.
"AVESCO has enjoyed a very successful relationship with Bridgestone over the past three years and while both companies presented extremely attractive proposals we had to go with the best possible offer for the category and our teams,” he said.
"V8 Supercars are fast becoming one of the most valuable sporting properties and more and more high profile companies are wanting to be involved with Australia's premier motorsport category.
"V8 Supercars offer Dunlop the perfect cornerstone for their ongoing marketing direction which reflects their long standing tradition of high performance tyres and successful involvement in motorsport worldwide.”
Dunlop was a prolific player in the sport, together with Bridgestone and Yokohama, before the control tyre was introduced in 1999. It was a sponsor and supplier to a number of V8 Supercar teams, including Dick Johnson Racing and Perkins Engineering.
After getting squeezed out of the category through the Bridgestone monopoly, South Pacific Tyres Managing Director Rod McEniry said he was “delighted” the company could again share in the sport’s prosperity.
"Today the Dunlop brand stands for high technology, performance and quality," he said. "And its proud Australian motorsport heritage makes it the perfect choice as the official tyre supplier to Australia's highest-level motorsport category, V8 Supercars.
"Looking ahead, our V8 Supercar program will become a key aspect of our Dunlop brand marketing and we are very excited about the benefits this will bring to our business.”
Next year’s Australian Grand Prix meet in Melbourne is the likely venue for Dunlop’s comeback to the sport; dawning a new and uncertain era for V8 Supercar teams.
While the playing field will continue to be level, the new deal forces teams back to the drawing board over the off-season to accommodate the new Dunlop compound. Most teams have no experience with Dunlop rubber, while those that do are unlikely to be at an advantage three years down the track.
With a three-year tyre deal in place, a new broadcast partner and naming-rights sponsor will be next on the AVESCO board's agenda. It is understood the Ten Network will face little competition in its bid to retain the television rights, while Shell’s position as corporate partner appears to be in jeopardy.
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