Bridgestone, a global leader in premium tyres and sustainable mobility solutions, will supply its premium Bridgestone BATTLAX motorcycle tyres to five teams in the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) 2025.

This year, Bridgestone will be the sole tyre supplier for five of the most ambitious teams, namely F.C.C. TSR Honda France, YART YAMAHA Official EWC Team, Yoshimura SERT Motul, and the new partners, BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM and Kawasaki Webike Trickstar. In order to further promote and uphold racing culture, Bridgestone continues to sponsor a variety of domestic and international motorsports, from elite professional race series to local amateur races. This includes its participation in the FIM EWC. Bridgestone has been providing teams competing in the entire EWC series with Bridgestone racing tyres since 2017.

Advanced materials and technology are used in the creation of Bridgestone racing tyres to maximise handling, grip and longevity. In addition to offering exceptional performance in a range of weather situations, Bridgestone racing tyres are made to provide riders the assurance they need to push themselves to the utmost in every circumstance.

Nico Thuy, Director Motorcycle at Bridgestone EMEA, said, “Bridgestone has a deep-rooted passion for motorsports, and the FIM Endurance World Championship is the ultimate test of tyre performance, durability and innovation. We’re proud to expand our support in 2025 – continuing to work with three outstanding teams and adding two more in BMW and Kawasaki, ahead of what will surely be another brilliant season. We know that our Bridgestone racing tyres will play their part and help push the limits of endurance racing once again.”

The schedule for the 2025 FIM EWC season is as follows:

    19-20 April: 24 Heures Motos, Le Mans, France

    7 June: 8 Hours of Spa Motos, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium

    3 August: Suzuka 8 Hours, Suzuka race track, Japan

    20-21 September: the Bol d'Or, Circuit Paul Ricard, France

Dutch manufacturer of pneumatic tyres for cars and agriculture vehicles Apollo Tyres NL BV (ATNL) has put in a Request for Advice to the Work’s Council on its plans to discontinue production and production-related activities at its Enschede plant in, the Netherlands by the summer of 2026.

The company shared that the decision to discontinue operations is on the back of several factors that include an increase in costs on the back of macroeconomic disruptions, sa teep increase in energy & labour costs and decline in demand for Spacemaster and Agri tyres.

In addition, the pricing pressure from low-cost competitors has made the manufacturing at ATNL uncompetitive. Going forward, the company sees the high-cost situation continuing, which impacts the feasibility of long-term profitability at Enschede.

Benoit Rivallant, President, ATNL, said, “Submitting the Request for Advice to the Work’s Council on the intended decision to discontinue production has been enormously difficult. In the last couple of years, we have implemented several initiatives to reduce costs at Enschede. These initiatives resulted in some savings but most of these were completely negated due to the ever-increasing inflation. After thorough investigation we saw no other option than to recommend the discontinuation of the production activities at Enschede as the Management Board of Apollo Tyres NL BV.”

He further added, “We take our obligations toward our employees and the Work Council very seriously. We have engaged with them in line with these obligations and will continue to do so. We will also be in communication with customers, suppliers and other parties across the value chain and will continue to do business as usual. There is no change in our working relationship, and we continue to focus on providing exceptional customer service. The execution of the intended decision is subject to completion of the Works Council consultation process and supervisory board approval.”

The Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII), a research organisation working as part of Rubber Board, has announced its proposal to appoint a ‘Research Associate (statistician)’ to work in the Botany Division on temporary basis. The selection will be based on a written test cum walk-in interview.

Candidates must hold a Master’s degree in Agricultural Statistics or equivalent qualification to be eligible for the position. As per the criteria, the age of candidates applying for the position should not exceed 35 years as of 31 January 2025.  Interested candidates are advised to meet the Director of Research, Rubber Research Institute of India, Rubber Board, Kottayam–9 on 6 May 2025 at 9.30 am along with the original documents their age, educational qualifications, experience etc. Those interested can contact on 0481-2353311 or visit www.rubberboard.gov.in for further details.

Vaculug Ltd has officially launched its new mobile application, V-Torque, to support fleet managers and commercial vehicle technicians across the UK.

V-Torque is intended to improve the effectiveness and safety of vehicle maintenance by giving commercial vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes operating in the UK instant access to wheel nut torque requirements and re-torque settings. Thanks to the app's sophisticated capabilities, users can oversee and control re-torquing procedures with unparalleled precision, guaranteeing the highest level of wheel security compliance. V-Torque lowers maintenance costs and advances fleet operations' sustainability objectives by optimising these procedures. After successful field tests with a few chosen service providers, the app is now accessible on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

Glenn Sherwood, Chief Growth Officer of Vaculug Ltd, said, “We are thrilled to introduce V-Torque, a product born from our unwavering commitment to sustainability and innovation. The app amplifies our dedication to driving positive change in the industry.”

ZC Rubber is all set to unveil new products under its WESTLAKE and GOODRIDE brands at Autopromotec 2025, which is scheduled from 21–24 May in Bologna, Italy.

The company will display new innovations in the passenger car, all-season, winter and commercial vehicle categories at Booth D22, Hall 20. ZC Rubber's emphasis on safety and performance in accordance with European market regulations is demonstrated by the fact that some of these products have received A or B ratings for wet grip on the EU Tyre Label.

From the WESTLAKE stable, the company will display the ZuperFlex Z-137 passenger car tire, the Zuper 4S Z-411 all-season tire and the range of Gen II commercial truck tires, including WSL2, WDL2, WSA2 and WAM2. On the GOODRIDE side, the company will showcase the RideMax G-147 passenger tire, the Elite G-402 all-season tire and the newly developed ZuperSnow Z-508 directional winter tire. Apart from this, the company will also display a premium new range of new flagship commercial tires tailored for European commercial transport demands.

According to ZC Rubber, “Every product featured at this year’s Autopromotec reflects our ongoing commitment to meeting regional expectations – both in terms of regulatory compliance and real-world performance. We look forward to sharing how WESTLAKE and GOODRIDE continue to evolve in step with the European market.”