Pirelli is pleased that its P Zero tyres - aimed at meeting the sporting needs of the modern driver - earned a top three plaudit in the Auto Express product awards.

For the latest test, the popular motoring magazine assessed 10 different tyres on aquaplaning, cabin noise and economy.

The Pirelli P Zero, a former winner in this size, was named one of the top three with Auto Express stating: “It makes its way into our top three thanks to an excellent performance in the wet tests, comfortably winning the braking and handling disciplines and finishing in the top four in the other categories.”

Dominic Sandivasci, Pirelli UK managing director, added: “We are delighted with the results from the recent Auto Express tyre test.

“As a company, Pirelli takes pride in being known as the world’s leading premium tyre manufacturer, and the P Zero family is a product that is consistently at the cutting edge of technology.

“With the launch of new and specialised lines such as the P Zero Silver earlier this year, we are confident that we have a product that delivers highly in both performance and durability.”

Pirelli’s P Zero range was launched in 1987 and has developed into one of the industry’s best-known high performance products. The tyres profile has been raised even higher with its entry into the glamorous world of Formula One.

When its not tearing round a track however, the P Zero is suitable for vehicles ranging from the most prestigious and powerful GTs, right through to mid-range vehicles.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Dunlop Motorsport has celebrated the 40th anniversary of Spaghetti Junction with an impressive ten-truck drive-by stunt.

The tyres manufacturer organised for the convoy to take over three lanes of the M6 in honour of the UK’s largest and most complicated intersection.

Dunlop’s racing tyres are manufactured at the Fort Dunlop facility in Birmingham, and the company estimates that it has shipped more than 10-million tyres across the juntion since it was first opened in 1972.

The ten-truck convoy converged simultaneously on many of the different intertwined roads of the junction for an aerial photograph. The trucks then paraded through the city on the old Birmingham Superprix circuit, which made some of city streets famous for motor racing.

James Bailey, Director of Marketing and Communications for Dunlop Motorsport Europe, said: “We are very proud of our long association with Birmingham and that we not only design, develop and manufacture tyres here, but also provide many of the support teams for race championships across Europe and the world.

“The Dunlop Motorsport trucks are not just delivery vehicles. Once they are in the paddock at a race track, the sides open up, awnings are fitted and they are transformed into the ‘Dunlop Village’ - a tyre fitting centre from where the engineers will look after the tyre needs of racing teams before and during practice and racing. There are more than 20 vehicles servicing over 200 events around the world every year.

“As well as celebrating 40 years of being neighbours with the iconic Spaghetti Junction we also wanted to acknowledge the anniversary of motor racing on the streets of Birmingham. Although racing didn’t happen on Birmingham’s Superprix Circuit until the 1980s, permission for it to happen was first given 40 years ago, so it is appropriate to reflect on the city’s racing heritage.

“The Superprix was a great showcase for Birmingham and with around forty thousand people employed in the UK motorsport industry, maybe the time is right to highlight this contribution to the local and national economy with a return of racing to Birmingham’s streets.”

Denna Bowman, Head Office

With everyone trying to save money at the moment, the Daily Mirror carried an interesting feature outlining why cheaper isn’t always better - especially when it comes to tyres.

To drive home the point, the paper delved back to an article in What Car which pitted three premium tyres costing up to £70, against three budget alternatives at around half the cost in a series of braking tests back in 2010.

According to the Mirror: “The results were shocking, showing in the wet, the budget tyres took an average of 14 metres longer than the premium tyres to stop from 70mph.”

It also reported that the magazine warned: “Don’t even think about skimping on tyres.

“It’s tempting to save money in the short term by going for the budget option, but you’d be unwise to do so.

“Tyres are the only part of your car that make contact with the road, so you’re far better off sticking to the premium brands and hunting around for the lowest prices on those.

“As our investigation clearly shows, cheap tyres could easily cost you your life.”

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh has come to the defence of Pirelli’s controvesial Formula One tyres.

Whitmarsh believes the tyres have improved the spectacle of the sport and disputes Michael Schumacher’s complaints that they are like driving on ‘raw eggs’.

The Mercedes driver moaned after the Bahrain race: “I just think that they’re playing a much too big effect because they are so peaky and so special that they don’t put our cars or ourselves to the limit.

“We drive like on raw eggs and I don’t want to stress the tires at all. Otherwise you just overdo it and you go nowhere.”

However, Whitmarsh, whose team is no stranger to problems dealing with the Pirelli rubber, argued that the criticism is wrong and that it requires skill to get the most out of the tyres.

He countered: “There’s no doubt the tyres are a definite challenge within Formula One and they have added to the spectacle.

“There’s also no doubt when a driver has had a bad race he will complain about them.

“But if they made tyres that were very robust and not challenging in terms of management from either the team or driver’s perspective then I’m sure the spectators will be critical of the tyres as they won’t create the right spectacle.

“In summary, they are challenging and there have been times when they have certainly given up.

“The last race in Bahrain was certainly one of those times, where we weren’t in the right window of operation and that affected our performance in the race quite dramatically.

“But I think it would be wrong to criticise the tyre. I think you’ve got to look at you as a team and what the drivers are doing and look at how to manage the situation.”

With Formula One fever sweeping the country (not to mention our Head Office), we all smiled when we saw this tweet from one of the customers of our Cambridge tyres team.

Dave Gladwin ‏- aka @pasodave - took to Twitter to say: “Thanks for a incredibly speedy change yesterday, your man should be in an F1 pit crew! Two tyres swapped in 10 mins.”

Now we know that might be a slight exaggeration - considering today’s F1 crews are expected to complete the job in under three seconds - but we all appreciated the sentiment and the compliment.

The big time-saving plus about our service is the fact that it is mobile, we go to our customers’ home or work to change their tyres, so they don’t have to waste their time hanging around a grotty garage or tyre depot.

And because our operating costs and overheads are low, we pass the savings on to our customers with prices much cheaper than the leading high street tyre chains - so it’s a win-win for motorists!

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Mercedes racer Michael Schumacher is continuing to give Pirelli a verbal beating - this time complaining that driving with their tyres is like driving on ‘raw eggs’.

The seven-time world champion feels driver are being forced to conserve their tyres because they the rubber is suffering quick degradation.

Meanwhile, fellow F1 drivers have refused to be drawn into the debate, instead focusing on this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

But Schumacher is adamant the situation needs to be addressed.

Schumacher told CNN: “I just think that they’re playing a much too big effect because they are so peaky and so special that they don’t put our cars or ourselves to the limit.

“We drive like on raw eggs and I don’t want to stress the tyres at all. Otherwise you just overdo it and you go nowhere.”

Pirelli have hit back at Schumacher’s claims, insisting the tyres were designed to meet the requests of Formula One bosses and that they have spiced up the action.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, hit back at the criticism. “We are pushing the limits,’ he said.

“It’s a very, very aggressive approach that we took. It’s what we were asked to do. We were asked to bring challenges to the teams and this is what we’ve done.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

Good to see The Sun picking up on the warning about millions of motorists risking their lives by buying part-worn tyres.

Daniel Jones, the papers consumer editor, reported that tests found just one in 50 tyres tested met legal requirements.

It also pointed out that many had botched repairs and hidden patches — and one even a nail in the rubber.

According to the Sun: “The economic slump has fired a boom in cheap tyres, with hard-up drivers buying more than four million last year from dealers and websites like eBay.”

TyreSafe, the UK’s leading tyre safety organisation, is warning that these tyre could be fatal, with more than a third of the 50 tyres it bought online and from retailers in the Midlands having shoddy illegal repairs or tears.

The Sun reported: “And one had the rusty nail sticking through. Tyre expert Ted Foreman said: “That could kill you.””

Sellers face fines of up to £5,000 if they break strict rules about repairs and rubber condition. A used tyre must have 1.6mm depth across ALL the tread — and be stamped “part-worn” to show it has been checked and is legal.

However, only one of the 50 tested bore the seal of approval.

TyreSafe chairman Stuart Jackson said: “Clear regulations exist, but they are not being adhered to.”

Denna Bowman, Head Office

It is not just customers who do not want to trek down to the local garage or depot to have their new tyres fitted who appreciate our mobile fitting service.

Fleet managers across the UK also turn to us to supply and fit their tyres and our Newcastle team has just received some excellent praise from one of the large accounts it manages.

The delighted customer wrote: “I want to pass on compliments for the etyres service that is being provided at South Tyneside.

“When we call them out they arrive quickly and carry the work out to a very high standard. We get the same person every time (sorry, I can’t remember his name) and he provides an excellent service.

“Would you please pass this on to your contact at etyres? It’s always nice to get good feedback! Thank you.”

We are delighted to be able to pass this praise back to Jeremy and his team in Newcastle!

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Making sure your tyres have the legal tread depth is not important just for safety reasons, it will also stop you clocking up penalty points on your licence and incurring hefty fines.

The other week a 25-year-old motorists was fined £135 and and handed three licence penalty points for driving a vehicle with tyres that were below the legal tread depth.

And the financial penalty didn’t end there - Dudley Magistrates also ordered the driver to pay a £15 victim surcharge and £80 police costs, because the tread on the two front tyres of the VW Golf he was driving were below the legal limit.

When money is tight, it might seem tempting to keep driving on bald tyres to save the expensive of buying replacements, but it can be a massive false economy.

Fines, penalty points, accident repairs and increased insurance premiums are all possible repercussions of driving on illegal tyres.

The sensible approach is to shop around to get the best deal you can. etyres operate a free mobile fitting service, and because we don’t have expensive tyre depots or garages to run, we pass our savings on to our customers with much cheaper prices.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Pirelli must be revelling in all the publicity it is getting for its Formula One tyres.

The tyres manufacturer is on the receiving end of the credit and the blame for the current erratic results from the last four Grand Prix races, according to F1SA.com.

It is the first time in almost 30 years that four different cars, namely McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, have won the opening four races of the season.

According to Marc Surer, Swiss commentator and former F1 driver: “The explanation is Pirelli, it’s the tyres.”

Surer told Austrian television Servus TV: “It’s been a question of who can make them work, and that is depending on a number of factors.”

The F1SA report details why some teams are struggling to get to grips with the tyres. It points out that some cars require the tyres to be running hot and working hard before they deliver their pace, whilst others only find the ’sweet spot’ in cold conditions.

Red Bull racer Jenson Button, who won at Melbourne, said: “We know we were slow (in Bahrain) but we don’t understand why.”

While Mercedes boss Norbert Haug points out: “The challenge is how to use the tyres, how to set up your car.”

And Red Bull’s Christian Horner agreed: “I think this year the tyre has dominated performance and I think it’s crucial to try and understand how they work.”

“It’s clear,” Lotus’ Eric Boullier added, “that the key for performance is the tyres.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team