The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has announced that a car equipped with its flagship ADVAN brand tyres finished first in the GT300 class in Round 5 of the 2024 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Series. The series final round was held on 7-8 December at the Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture.

Takashi Kogure and Yuya Motojima drove JLOC's VENTENY Lamborghini GT3, which won the Round 5 GT300. Although the team won Rounds 7 and 8 after their first victory in Round 2, they began the final round 11 points behind in the team standings. To secure the pole position for the final race on Sunday, they did, however, win the last round's qualifying race. Taking the wheel from the start, Motojima got off to a solid start, and his careful yet aggressive driving held him in the lead until he passed over the wheel to Kogure.

For a short while, Kogure gave up the lead to a team that chose to forego changing tyres, but he soon recovered the distance, regained the lead on the 38th lap and maintained it until the conclusion. Motojima and Kogure were able to overcome a deficit in the series point standings and win the championship title by winning the last three rounds of the series. This was their first victory since taking home the GT500 class crown in 2010. For JLOC, which has participated in the SUPER GT from its inception in 1994 as the Japan GT Championship, it was also the much-anticipated maiden Team championship.

The latest win fulfils Yokohama Rubber's objective of winning the GT300 class title in the SUPER GT Series once more as part of its ADVAN CHALLENGE, which aims to increase ADVAN tire sales. Throughout the 2024 season, the winning car was helped by the outstanding performance of ADVAN tyres, ultimately claiming the championship that had previously been won in 2022.

JK Tyre & Industries, one of the leading tyre manufacturers in the country, has achieved a new milestone of inaugurating its 100th JK Truck Wheels brand shop in India.

The JK Truck Wheels brand shop acts as a one-stop shop for providing holistic solutions for the truck and bus tyre needs. The new facility has come up in Erode, Tamil Nadu, and is spread across 15,000 sqft. It was inaugurated by Anuj Kathuria, President (India), JK Tyre & Industries.

“This is a significant milestone in our journey to enhance customer experiences across India. It reflects our dedication to providing exceptional services and being the preferred tyre partner for commercial vehicles. We are the most preferred brand in the Truck Bus Radial (TBR) range of products, and we would further consolidate our position in this space by enhancing the overall value. We continue to focus on making the tyre-buying process efficient, customer-centric, and innovative. With Tamil Nadu emerging as a vital transport hub, this milestone outlet strengthens our presence in the region. We are confident that this new JK Truck Wheels will enable us to deepen customer connections, empower fleets, and support businesses across the state,” said Kathuria.

The tyre major currently has established a network of 1,600 touchpoints in southern part of India, of which Tamil Nadu stands as the biggest market for tubeless tyres for trucks and buses. It further aims to expand its market share with high focus on Chennai, Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Karur, Kanyakumari, Madurai, as well as Puducherry.

Apollo Tyres commemorated the National Farmers Day by holding a felicitation event for farmers who have adopted sustainable farming practices, recognising their dedication to protecting the environment, enhancing food security and building better communities.

Farmers proudly displayed their outstanding organic goods during the event – a lively celebration of sustainable agriculture – in the presence of Mulrajsinh Vaghela, District Livelihood Manager, Vadodara, and Radhika Jadeja, Assistant Director of Horticulture, Gujarat State Government Office, Gandhinagar. The potential of sustainable practices was exemplified by six exceptional farmers who stood out as change agents. They were duly acknowledged, underscoring the significance of agricultural innovation. These farmers are now leading the charge to create a robust and healthful food system, and others may learn from their sustainable methods.

Through the Apollo Tyres Foundation (ATF), Apollo Tyres is advancing sustainable agriculture by encouraging biodiversity, environmental sustainability and community well-being through focused farmer training initiatives. A total of 3,261 farmers in Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have benefited from ATF's training assistance on improved crop planning, enhancing soil health and using organic manure.

Geetaben Shantilal Parmar, one of the farmer beneficiaries, said, “I felt uneasy initially when ATF encouraged me to transition to sustainable practices instead of sticking to conventional agriculture. Change can be hard to implement, especially when it’s something linked to our daily livelihood. However, I soon realised this was a chance to redefine my approach, Now, I enjoy the benefits of farming that uses fewer resources, promotes a rich diversity of crops and livestock and enhances my ability to respond to the unique conditions of my local environment.”

LingLong Tire and Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (Real Madrid) held a meeting on 2 December at the Real Madrid Training Ground (Ciudad Deportiva) in Madrid, Spain. This was the first in-person meeting since the strategic collaboration was formally announced on 27 September.

The meeting was attended by representatives from both sides, including Wang Feng, Chairman of LingLong Tire; Álvaro Arbeloa, Real Madrid Ambassador and Emilio Butragueno, Director of Public Relations for Real Madrid. In order to experience the intense football culture and team spirit, they also went to the Real Madrid training facilities. During their journey to Madrid, LingLong Tire extended a special invitation to its international partners to attend a Real Madrid versus Getafe game at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. This event showcased LingLong's brand image through brand displays around the stadium.

According to the partnership deal, LingLong will work with Real Madrid on market promotion, brand creation, fan interaction and other important areas, thereby increasing LingLong's worldwide visibility and impact. At the same time, LingLong will use Real Madrid's worldwide reach to deepen people's understanding of the product philosophy of safety and high value, as well as the goal of ecologically sustainable development.

Feng said, "The collaboration between LingLong Tire and Real Madrid Club de Fútbol represents an important showcase for the LingLong brand on the global stage. We look forward to elevating LingLong's brand influence worldwide through this partnership while also adding new brilliance to Real Madrid's outstanding track record and brand image."

Pyrum Innovations AG has submitted approval documents under Germany’s BImSchG law for its Green Factory II GmbH at Perl-Besch, paving the way for construction to begin in spring 2025. Despite earlier technical delays at its Dillingen/Saar site, the submission was made on time following receipt of final technical data.

At Dillingen/Saar, Pyrum reached a key milestone with over 2,000 operating hours logged at TAD 2 and 1,000 at TAD 3, meeting critical investment criteria for partners like Remondis. Production intervals for the new lines have been extended from four to four-and-a-half weeks, improving efficiency and output.

CEO Pascal Klein commented: “Shortly before the turn of the year, we have made significant progress in our rollout plan. With the submission of the building permit for Pyrum GreenFactory II GmbH, we have overcome the last major obstacle before the groundbreaking ceremony in spring 2025 in Perl-Besch. In addition, the two new lines have reached a new threshold. The high number of operating hours not only meets the assumed requirements of our partners, but also continues to demonstrate the performance of our technology. We are very proud of this new milestone and are already looking forward to the development of upcoming customer projects.”