JK Tyre is a pioneer in motorsports in India with the credit to transform an unorganised and casual interest in racing into organised motorsport. With the sole purpose of growing the motorsports community in India, the company’s motorsports journey began in the early 1980s when it associated with The Himalayan Rally – India’s premier international event. “Ingraining motorsports in India has always been a key priority for JK Tyre. In India, motorsport is at the key junction of going from a niche to a populous sport, with a cult following,” says Sanjay Sharma, Head – Motorsport, JK Tyre & Industries Limited.

For JK Tyre, motorsport has played a vital role in providing the most potent platform to test tyres in the most extraordinary conditions in absolute terms and to reach out to youth and demonstrate technological prowess to build the brand. Sharma further explains, “Motorsports allow us to continuously test and update our products to offer the best possible tyres for passenger or commercial vehicles. Thanks to its competitive nature, motorsporting activities also inspired us to pioneer the technology used in producing high-performance tyres capable of running in treacherous conditions and at high speeds in racing and rallies.

“More importantly, motorsport is a perfect brand-building exercise for any automobile tyre manufacturer, which allows positioning themselves as an adventurer which  connects with the youth instantly, and excelling and winning also demonstrates the effectiveness of our products. JK Tyre’s name is synonymous with motorsport, and we are committed to making India the motorsport hub of Asia and putting in place a system that is constantly unearthing fresh talent and readying drivers for the global stage.”

Legacy

The company has been associated with a multitude of big and small events happening across India every year. It has invested in motorsport programmes for budding racers interested in taking up motorsport as a career. Today, JK Tyre is present in all the verticals of motorsport, from karting, racing, time-speed-distance navigational events, national and international rallying to 2-wheeler racing, truck racing and off-roading coupled with experiential events and expeditions in the country.

JK Tyre’s National Karting Championship has been running successfully for over 15 years. “Our National Karting Championship is serving as a breeding ground for budding racers. Jehan Daruvala, Arjun Maini, Kush Maini and Yash Aradhya, who have won laurels for the country in the international arena, have all started with us and been our national karting champions,” adds Sharma.

JK Tyre National Racing Championship is the longest-running racing championship in the country, which is in its 24th successive year. It was also the first company to acquire the FIA accredited series Formula BMW and rechristened it as the JK Racing Asia Series, which ran as a support race across F1 tracks in Asia and Europe. Subsequently, the company introduced the series as part of its National Racing Championship as JK Euro Cup to give the Indian racers a chance to race in the FIA accredited Formula 3 cars on their home turf. 

The company was one of the inaugural partners of the franchise based X1 Racing League in 2019 and partners of Racing Team India for its debut at Asian Le Mans 2021. “We have been leading in the Indian National Rally Championship with our ace driver, Arjuna Awardee and also our brand ambassador Gaurav Gill winning the coveted title for the seventh time,” adds Sharma.

According to Sharma, back then, the country lacked the infrastructure required for motorsports, and JK Tyre has been actively developing world-class infrastructure. “To nurture and mentor young talent, we have put together a step by step motorsport progression ladder for budding enthusiasts. We encourage young talent in our karting championships post. They graduate to race in the Indian make Formula 4 cars and then further move to Formula 3 cars in the JK Tyre National Racing Championship. After that, they go on to compete in major international events on a global stage. For this, we also introduced India’s first motorsport academy to foster the spirit of young racers,” elaborates Sharma.

Grooming New Breeds

Currently, JK Tyre has the best grid of rally drivers in the Indian National Rally Championship. Along with Indian rally ace Gaurav Gill’s expertise, the company has kickstarted a Rally Academy where Gaurav himself mentors its team of rally drivers.

“An important part of our goal when we became involved with motorsport was to develop the sport and support its sportsmen, and not just use it for product development. Today, we are proud to state that 90 percent of Indians flying the national flag globally are in one way or other have been a part of the JK Tyre development programme. When the Indian National Anthem plays on an international podium, it is indeed a proud moment for us,” says Sharma.

Tyre Test On Racing Turf

For JK Tyre, motorsport is essential in tyre development as it provides an organic testing ground for its products. The conditions in motorsports are not simulated and prove effective in comprehending actual results on the ground, without parameters and conditionalities.

 Motorsport drivers have a more diverse range of needs for their tyres, challenging to meet and balance the off-road rally events tyres on the track. Racing events are different and call for different tyre design approaches. Major performance expectations from tyres are extremely good longitudinal grip for quick braking and acceleration and excellent lateral grip for sharp cornering. They must be robust enough to operate in different terrains and on various surfaces without any punctures and structural damage. These requirements push tyre designers to the limits and constantly make designers think out of the box. “To meet the performance requirements of motorsport tyres, unique tyre pattern designs, constructions and compounds have to be developed. Few of these designs and compounds are horizontally deployed in commercial tyres as well to enhance the performance,” says Sharma.

 Gaining Popularity

Sharma thinks that motorsport is gaining traction in India. He adds that while cricket remains the preferred sport, motorsport still is the second most-watched sport in India. “Motorsport is a unique combination of man and machine. And with technology advancing, the sport also has seen much advancement in the country. In the last 10 years, the way progress has been made is almost at par with the world. The Indian motorsports industry has grown multifold over the past few years and will continue on this growth path in the future as well. With increasing participation in international rallies and events, the country’s role in global motorsports has never been this recognised.

“From Khel Ratna Deepa Mallik to Padma Shri Narain Karthikeyan and from Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Gill to Pradhan Mantri Bal Puruskar awardee Yash Aradhya, they are all standing examples of motorsport getting its due recognition. Over the years, we have seen many auto and auto ancillary manufacturers use this platform in one way or another, either by participating in the sport or using it to test their products. In any case, the industry participation is unparallel to any other sport,” explains Sharma.

Women In Motorsports

Sharma claims Initiatives of JK have encouraged the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) to focus on women in motorsport. Today in India, there is a commission that only concentrates on women in motorsport with its principal supporter JK Tyre. Over the years, JK Tyre has also played a proactive role in encouraging women to take to the sport, and its efforts have yielded satisfying results.

“JK Tyre adopted FIA’s highly successful initiative: the Girls on Track (GoT) programme, to spread awareness at the grassroots level and encourage girls to come to the race track and take to the sport. The event attracted a huge number of entries from young girls from across the country,” adds Sharma.

Sneha Sharma and Mira Erda emerged from JK Tyre’s karting programmes and are now competing in international formula racing. In fructification of these efforts, the JK Tyre National Racing Championship also features an all-women’s motor racing team. In addition to this, the company has specially curated women-centric TSD events like the Times Women Drive, Defence Wives Power Drive, FICCI Flo and Rally to the valley, which are the most awaited events in the calendar. “Today, in any and every vertical of motorsport, there is almost up to 20 percent participation of women on each grid,” adds Sharma.

Going Forward

JK Tyre will continue to consolidate its partnership with motorsports across verticals and continue investing in technology and bringing India closer to world standards. “We have already seen a tremendous growth of motorsport in the past decade. However, there’s still a long way to go. We pride ourselves on our active participation in almost every vertical of motorsport event happening in the country and will continue to do so in the forthcoming years. While the pandemic may have slowed the progress, the motorsport industry will be back in action with the upcoming seasons to look forward,” concludes Sharma.(TT)

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Bridgestone Corporation has once again been selected as a constituent of several globally recognised environmental, social and governance (ESG) indexes, including the Dow Jones Best-in-Class World Index, the FTSE4Good Index Series, the MSCI Selection Indexes, the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Index, the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index, the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index and the MSCI Japan Equity ESG Select Leaders Index.

The Japanese tyre giant’s continued inclusion in these rankings serves as a concrete and objective embodiment of its corporate mission to serve society with superior quality. Company leadership views the ability to sustain such ESG initiatives over many years as a distinct organisational strength.

Regarding the Dow Jones indexes, Bridgestone has been selected for the Best-in-Class World Index for four consecutive years since 2022, which recognises the top 10 percent of sustainability leaders among 2,500 major global companies. The firm has also maintained a place in the Best-in-Class Asia Pacific Index for 16 straight years since 2010.

In the FTSE Russell assessments, Bridgestone has achieved eight consecutive years of selection for the FTSE4Good Index Series since 2018, alongside the same duration for the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Index. The company has also been included in the FTSE JPX Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index for five consecutive years since 2021. For MSCI, Bridgestone has secured three straight years of selection for the MSCI Selection Indexes since 2023 while receiving the highest AAA rating in the MSCI ESG Ratings for three consecutive years.

The company has additionally earned high marks from the international non-profit CDP, receiving an A minus rating in both Climate Change and Water Security for 2025, marking six consecutive years at the leadership level. Bridgestone also obtained an A rating in the Supplier Engagement Rating for the seventh time. Key initiatives behind these recognitions include the expansion of its sustainability business model towards carbon neutrality and a circular economy, actions supporting nature positive goals such as sustainable natural rubber and water resource management, a comprehensive due diligence system based on Plan-Do-Check-Act cycles for human rights and environmental risk and global policy execution guidelines.

Bridgestone places sustainability at the core of its management, aiming to implement and evolve its unique business model across the entire value chain from production and use to renewal and raw materials. These efforts link business operations directly to the realisation of carbon neutrality, a circular economy and a nature positive world.

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Tegeta Green Planet and Shine Energy, both affiliated with Tegeta Holding, have launched a joint educational initiative to raise environmental awareness and a sense of responsibility among young people. The project addresses modern challenges such as environmental protection and sustainable development.

Company representatives are visiting schools across Tbilisi to hold informational meetings, presentations and workshops. The programme begins with presentations, followed by interactive games and activities designed to help students retain the information. At the end of each session, participants receive symbolic gifts and prizes as motivation.

Tegeta Green Planet focuses on teaching students the principles of specific waste management, including how to properly handle used tyres, batteries and oils. The sessions explain why proper waste management is essential for environmental protection and how it connects to the circular economy. Meanwhile, Shine Energy educates young people on the importance of energy, its everyday use and why developing renewable and sustainable energy resources is crucial.

The initiative is not limited to schools. In the near future, both organisations will expand their efforts to universities, aiming to broaden awareness about environmental protection, waste management and energy efficiency. The ultimate goal is to foster environmentally responsible attitudes among the younger generation, helping build a more sustainable and conscious society.

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Zeon has been recognised as a Supplier Engagement Leader in the 2025 Supplier Engagement Assessment (SEA) conducted by CDP, a United Kingdom-based international environmental nonprofit organisation. This achievement represents the first time the company has received the highest possible rating in this assessment.

The evaluation measures how corporations address climate change within their supply chains, focusing on responses to the CDP Climate Change Questionnaire across five critical areas. These include governance, emissions targets, Scope 3 emissions management, risk management and overall supplier engagement strategies.

Zeon earned the top rating for its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through supplier collaboration, a group-wide initiative, alongside continuous dialogue maintained via procurement activities. Guided by its philosophy of contributing to planetary preservation and human prosperity, Zeon remains committed to sustainable management. The company reaffirmed that it will continue working with suppliers and other stakeholders to tackle climate change and meet societal expectations.

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German chemical group WACKER has announced a price increase of up to 15 percent for its resins, dispersions and dispersible polymer powders produced at its European and US facilities. The adjustment takes effect on 1 June 2026, or as existing customer contracts permit. The move is designed to allow the company’s Polymers division to maintain high product quality, deliver technological innovations and provide superior customer service and technical support. It will also support investments aimed at securing future growth in key markets.

Rising costs for raw materials and logistics have forced the pricing measure, with the Polymers division being particularly affected. The recent conflict in the Middle East has caused significant disruptions across global commodity markets. As a direct result, prices for energy, raw materials and transportation have climbed sharply.

Despite the increase, WACKER remains focused on sustaining its commitment to customer support and long-term capability. The company underscored that the adjustment is necessary to continue meeting market demands while ensuring operational stability and future-oriented development across its focus markets.

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