Valebridge Media Services (VMS) has announced the shortlist of nominees for the 2023 edition of the Recircle Awards, the event organised to promote and recognise sustainable innovation, production processes, management and services in the tyre retreading and recycling sector.

The shortlist, chosen from a preliminary list of candidates nominated by the public, has once again been compiled by the Recircle Awards Nominations Committee, made up of 14 experts, including respected tyre industry journalists, industry association heads and independent consultants from around the world.

The shortlisted nominees for the 15 award categories open to public vote are as follows:

Best Tread Rubber Supplier

- Dobermann

- Marangoni

- Pre-Q Galgo

- Silvercap

- Vipal Rubber

Best Retreading Equipment Supplier

- Central Marketing

- Italmatic

- Matteuzzi

- TRM

- Vipal Machinery

Best Tyre Recycling Industry Supplier

- Eco Green Equipment

- Eldan Recycling

- Fornnax

- Rubberjet Valley

- Tallants Navarro

Best Tyre Derived Recycled Product

- Ceyes: City Green Panels

- Michelin: Tyres containing rCB

- Rubtec SpA: Rubtec Rubber Bumpers

- Shredded Tire: Miami Echo Construction Blocks

- XTyre Global: Evaporation Inhibitor Floating Panel

Employee of the Year

- Ankita Saikia (Tyromer)

- Bernardita Diaz (SustrendLab)

- Camilla Raffaelli (VM Rubber)

- Fabricio Nedeff (Vipal)

- Ron Elliott (Pre-Q Galgo)

Best Passenger Retreader

- Black Star

- Fedima

- Insa Turbo

- Malatesta Pneumatici

- Radburg

Best OTR Retreader

- Community Tire

- FM Pneus

- Marangoni SpA

- Reifen Wagner

- Renova Peru

Best Truck & Bus Retreader

- Continental

- Insa Turbo

- Marangoni SpA

- Unigoma

- Vaculug

Mechanical Tyre Recycling Award

- Duramos SAS

- E-Cova

- Genan

- Murfitts

- Rembre Tyres

Tyre Devulcanization Award

- DRI Rubber

- EFG Polymers

- GRP Ltd

- Rubber Matters

- Tyromer Inc.

Tyre Pyrolysis Award

- Contec SA

- Ecolomondo Corp

- Kal Tire Chile

- Pyrum Innovations

- Scandinavian Enviro Systems

Best Retreading Accessory and Consumables Supplier

- Italmatic

- Marangoni

- Tech Europe

- Vipal Rubber

- VM Rubber

Best EPR Scheme     

- Circol ELT

- SDAB

- Seginus

- Signus Ecovalor

- Valorpneu

Best Tyre Recycling Research Project

- Blackcycle: The Blackcycle Project

- GEC Compounds: Research into the creation of Genesis Evolution Compounds

- María Esther Fernandez: The Application of Textile Waste from End-of-Use Tyres in the Production of Fibre Cement

- Patricio Muñoz / SustrendLab: The Recovery and Re-use of tyre sawdust in the manufacture of solid tyres for forklifts

- SustrendLab: Research into the extraction of T-Phite from tyres

Best Company Director

- Alexey Gryshchenko (Yashina)

- Hernan Diez Vargas (ANRE)

- Jorge Crespo (Vaculug)

- Matthias Leppert (Marangoni)

- Thomas Sorensson (Scandinavian Enviro Systems)

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In line with previous editions of the Recircle Awards, the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Tyre Recycling Sector will be decided by the Recircle Awards Nominations Committee and announced during the ceremony in Bologna in November. 

David Wilson, the Chairman of the Recircle Awards Nominations Committee and Publisher of Retreading Business y Tyre & Rubber Recycling, wanted to highlight the notable increase in nominations with the 2022 edition, “Since we launch the Recircle Awards, we have delighted with the reception it has received year after year. But this edition has once again, exceeded our expectations. We have received more than 1,100 individual nominations, which is 250 more than last year,” commented Wilson. “It is very satisfying to see the Recircle Awards continuing to establish itself further at an international level in each edition. We will continue to be committed to recognising the efforts of people, institutions and companies who promote the values of the circular economy in our sector. We wish good luck to all the nominees in the final vote,” concluded the Chairman of the Recircle Awards Nominations Committee.

Valebridge Media Services also announced that the voting window is now open for the 2023 edition of the Recircle Awards. The public can now vote for their candidates after registering themselves on the website of the 2023 Recircle Awards: https://recircleawards.com/categories-2023/. The voting system allows for only one vote per person per category. Registered voters from the 2022 edition are encouraged to use their credentials from the previous year to log in and vote. 

Voting in the 2023 Recircle Awards is open until 23:59 GMT on Friday, September the 8th, 2023, with the 2023 Recircle Awards being announced on Thursday the 16th of November 2023 in an awards ceremony which is due to take part within the framework of Futurmotive – Expo and Talks organised by the trade fair Autopromotec in Bologna, Italy.

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Pirelli has unveiled its latest innovation in road racing, the P ZERO Race TLR SL-R, a tyre engineered with a singular focus on maximising on-road speed. Positioned at the apex of the P ZERO Race lineup, this model unifies aerodynamic efficiency, low rolling resistance, precise handling and dependable grip into a single high-performance package. It is tailored for any scenario where speed is paramount, from competitive time trials and road races to the pursuit of personal bests during weekend rides.

The development of this tyre was heavily influenced by real-world feedback from Pirelli’s WorldTour partners, including Alpecin-Premier Tech, Fenix-Premier Tech and Lidl-Trek, alongside collaborations with leading bicycle manufacturers. Before its official release, it was already being raced under a prototype label, proving its pedigree in elite competition.

Central to its design is the debut of a patented technology called PAAS, or Pirelli Advanced Aerodynamic System. This system redefines the tyre’s shape to optimise its interaction with the rim, effectively managing airflow to harness the sailing effect, which reduces overall drag. By refining the tyre’s mounted geometry and the precise placement of its widest point, PAAS delays airflow separation. Importantly, this aerodynamic gain comes without sacrificing other key attributes, allowing the tyre to retain top-tier rolling efficiency, comfort and handling for a truly balanced ride. Complementing this is a newly developed micro-textured surface on the slick tread, further fine-tuning airflow to enhance aerodynamics and road feel at high speeds. The result is a tangible reduction in wheel drag, with average savings of up to 5 watts in crosswinds and peaks reaching 15 watts under optimal conditions.

Speed is further reinforced by the new LiteCORE casing, a tubeless-ready structure that represents Pirelli’s lightest and most efficient design for road tyres. It achieves a 10 percent reduction in rolling resistance compared to the brand’s previous best, all while maintaining responsive acceleration and precise control across varying conditions. The tyre delivers confident handling during rapid direction changes, accelerations and high-speed cornering.

Grip is entrusted to the SmartEVO² compound, a race-proven material already responsible for victories at prestigious Classics like Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix. This compound ensures reliable traction on both dry and wet surfaces, broadening the tyre’s versatility. Manufactured in Italy using FSC-certified natural rubber, the tyre complies with current ETRTO standards and is optimised for modern rims with internal widths between 22 and 25 millimetres, including hookless models when pressure limits are observed. Initially available in 28- and 30-millimetre widths, with black or yellow sidewall options, a 32-millimetre version is planned for release later in the year.

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Pirelli is all set for the Japanese Grand Prix with the three hardest compounds in its range – the C1 as the Hard, C2 as the Medium and C3 as the Soft – marking the first appearance of the C1 in race weekends of the 2026 Formula 1 season. Suzuka’s legendary 5.8-kilometre figure-of-eight layout, with its eighteen demanding corners and rapid directional changes, places immense stress on tyres, making this selection essential.

Recent resurfacing work, which began ahead of the 2025 event and has since been substantially completed across the remaining two sectors, introduces a smooth but still dirty asphalt surface expected to offer low initial grip. Under these conditions, graining – particularly on the Soft compound – is a typical concern. Last year, such wear was limited to the front axle and faded as the track evolved. With a larger expanse of new asphalt this time, teams will need to closely monitor both graining and its effect on degradation throughout the weekend.

The behaviour of the hardest and softest compounds will be especially telling. If the C1 delivers solid grip and the C3 shows the consistency seen in Shanghai, all three tyre options could become viable for race strategies. Temperatures will also play a decisive role. With the race held a week earlier than last year, ambient conditions may stay near 15°C, keeping thermal degradation in check. Whether a one-stop strategy remains feasible will likely hinge on the severity of graining and its impact on performance, making qualifying preparation critical for properly heating the tyres.

The 2025 race saw a dominant one-stop approach, with most drivers starting on the Medium before switching to the Hard around lap 20 – a path taken by the entire podium finishers. As the 40th edition of the Japanese Grand Prix approaches, Suzuka continues to host the event except for four early editions held at Fuji. Michael Schumacher holds the record for most wins here with six, while McLaren leads constructors with nine victories.

Adding a distinctive local touch, the third podium cap crafted by Pirelli Design with designer Denis Dekovic draws inspiration from cherry blossoms in full bloom during this period. The cap is available through Pirelli’s online store.

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TyreSafe, UK’s charity dedicated to raising tyre safety awareness, is calling for a shift in driver mindset, moving beyond reliance on enforcement to foster a culture of proactive vehicle safety. This follows new research from Uswitch that exposes a disconnect in how motorists approach maintenance. While the threat of penalty points prompts some action, it falls short of establishing consistent safety habits. TyreSafe argues this ‘safety gap’ reveals the limitations of an enforcement-led strategy, suggesting true road safety depends on motivating drivers to perform checks to protect lives rather than merely avoid punishment.

The findings paint a complex picture. Although over 4.8 million penalty points were issued in 2025, with the vast majority linked to speeding, only a third of motorists conduct vehicle checks specifically to evade penalties. While a significant majority of drivers with existing points altered their behaviour after being penalised, only half believe penalty points enhance road safety. For TyreSafe, this highlights a clear challenge: consistent vehicle maintenance has not yet become an automatic, routine part of driving habits.

This gap between awareness and action is particularly critical for tyre safety, a ‘silent risk’. Unlike speeding, which is highly visible and rigorously enforced, tyre defects often go unnoticed until they contribute to a serious incident. The statistics are stark, with an estimated six million illegal tyres on UK roads. Each year, tyre defects cause over two million MOT failures and result in thousands of penalty points. Given that tyres are the vehicle’s only contact with the road, their neglected state represents a persistent and underestimated danger.

In response, TyreSafe advocates for education alongside enforcement, warning that relying on fear of fines fosters reactive compliance rather than a preventative mindset. To address this, TyreSafe urges road users to embrace the simple ACT protocol: regular checks of air pressure, condition and tread depth. By encouraging drivers to internalize these routine habits, TyreSafe believes it is possible to bridge the gap between knowing what is safe and consistently acting on it, preventing thousands of needless incidents caused by poorly maintained tyres.

Stuart Lovatt, Chair of TyreSafe, said, “Enforcement clearly has a role to play in improving driver behaviour, but it cannot be the only motivator. What this data highlights is a safety gap. If only a third of drivers are checking their vehicles to avoid penalty points, we need to ensure everyone is checking them for the right reason – to stay safe. Tyres are a hidden risk. Unlike speeding, they’re not always visible and often go unchecked until something goes wrong. But when tyres fail – whether through low tread, incorrect pressure or damage – the consequences can be immediate and severe. The reality is that many tyre-related incidents are entirely preventable. A few simple checks, carried out regularly, can make a life-saving difference. We need to move beyond a culture of compliance driven by enforcement and towards one where tyre safety is seen as a fundamental part of responsible driving.”

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Falken Motorsports kicked off its new season in commanding fashion, leveraging the performance of Falken racing tyres to secure a podium finish at the 58th ADAC Barbarossa Prize. This event, originally intended as the second round of the ADAC RAVENOL Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) but elevated to the season opener after a cancellation, saw Sven Müller and Tim Heinemann claim third place in the No. 44 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

After qualifying 10th despite not completing a perfect lap, the duo demonstrated the tyres’ full potential. Starting driver Müller engaged in fierce battles from the opening lap, and the pair steadily advanced in their teal-and-blue Falken Porsche through the field to reach the top five by mid-race. In the closing stages, Heinemann delivered decisive overtakes, coming within a second of second place on the final lap to seal an early-season podium.

For customer team Max Kruse Racing, the Audi R8 LMS GT3, running on alternative fuel, finished 23rd with Jan Jaap van Roon, Tom Coronel and Rudy van Buuren. The sister car, driven by Dominik and Marcel Fugel alongside Benjamin Leuchter, placed 30th, while both VW Golf GTI TCR entries retired early. Falken Motorsports now prepares for the 57th Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy on 11 April, the third NLS round, building towards the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring (14–17 May).

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