Continental tyres are continuing their run of fantastic online competitions to celebrate their role as an Official Sponsor of 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

The tyres manufacturer are looking for the UK’s Biggest Football Fan and want to hear about the incredible lengths followers have gone to in order to get to a match.

If it’s a good story - the more extreme the better - all you have to do is fill out the entry form and tell Conti all about it in no more than 500 words.

You have to show how you proved your loyalty to your team by going to extreme measures to get to a game. The deadline for entries is 19th April.

A judging panel will then select 10 quarter finalists on the 3rd May, which will then be whittled down to four semi-finalists on 17th May.

Each of these semi-finalists will then have to make a video, telling the world why they deserve to scoop the top spot, these will be posted on the website and voted for by members of the public.

The contestant with the most votes will be announced on 28th May and will win an amazing holiday to South Africa and of course the honour of being awarded the title of ‘Britain’s Biggest Football Fan’.

To take part go to www.whowillwintheworldcup.co.uk.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

If you’re going to have to be replacing your car tyres this week, you might want to thank your lucky stars you’re not in Simon Cowell’s boots.

A new set of run-flat, 260mph-rated, low-profile Michelin tyres designed especially for his Bugatti Veyron will set him back £20,000!

And if he’s been driving his Veyron like the wind he will be spending this sum every couple of months. Apparently, at maximum speed, tyres will wear out in 30 minutes.

The £1 million Veyron is the fastest, most powerful and most expensive car ever made.

They are even out of reach of Premier League footballers and other famous owners include Ralph Lauren, Tom Cruise and US talk show host Jay Leno.

However, the interesting thing is, these cars don’t actually make any money for Volkswagen, which owns the Bugatti marque. In fact, it is estimated to have cost the company half a billion euros.

The fact is, if you own a Golf or a Polo, you are subsidising the super-wealthy who buy Veyrons, but VW continue to make it because it shows off their engineering dominance.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

We’ve had a bit of a laugh today after someone sent us a cartoon strip published in last Saturday’s Daily Mail.

“My fiancee ran off with my tarty friend,” a blonde tells her mate over a glass of red wine. “My car failed its MOT,” she continues moaning.

“If it’s got tyres or testosterone,” muses her pal “sooner or later it’ll let you down.”

Now, we would never presume to offer advice on the our customers love lives, but when it comes to tyres we’d like to encourage all women drivers that they don’t need to rely on a man when they’ve got tyre troubles.

Checking your tyres to make sure they are safe and legal is easier than following an Eastenders plotline these days.

All you have to do is follow these simple steps offered by Tyresafe, the UK’s leading tyre safety organisation:

1. Check your tyre pressure at least once a month.

2. Tyre pressure should be checked against the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended level. This can be found in the vehicle handbook and on a plate which is often located inside the fuel filler flap or on the driver’s door sill.

3. Check the pressure when tyres are cold (i.e. when you have travelled less than two miles).

4. If you are carrying a full load of passengers or luggage or will be towing a trailer or caravan, tyre pressures should be increased in line with the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations. Details can be found in the handbook.

5. Ensure a reliable and accurate pressure gauge is used.

6. Check the pressure in all four tyres not forgetting to check the spare tyre as well.

7. While checking pressures, give the rest of the tyre a visual inspection. Remove any stones and other objects embedded in the tread. Look out for any bulges, lumps or cuts.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Continental tyres have got two amazing prizes up for grabs for anyone who downloads their free iPhone app and takes a shot at predicting the results of the World Cup matches.

Taking second billing in the prize line up offered by the tyres manufacturer - and Official Sponsor of the 2010 World Cup - is a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to the host nation of South Africa.

But for the real football fans - and we guess this is what separates the men from the boys - is the chance to be entered into a draw to win an official match ball!

So if you fancy taking a shot at winning either of these two prizes all you have to do is visit whowillwintheworldcup.co.uk or download the iPhone software directly from the app store and predict the results for all the matches and plot the path to glory for your favourite team.

Use your knowledge to assess each team’s strengths at the group stage and see how the match results affect the group tables. Move on to the knock-out round and predict which teams will meet on the way to the 2010 World Cup Final.

You don’t have to play alone either. You can share your World Cup predictions with friends, post a note on Facebook, swap tips, tweet to your Twitter followers or just have fun comparing predictions.

But if you’re aiming for the chance to win an official match all, all you have to do is compete against others to predict the winner of any days matches and you’ll be entered into a draw to win the coveted prize.

Also, if you predict the exact score correct for any match on any given day you’ll be entered into a grand prize draw to win an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime holiday to South Africa.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Jenson Button got to grips with his tyres during his first official day’s running as a McLaren driver ahead of Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.

The reigning world champ said: “Looking after the rear tyres is very difficult here, especially the softer one, so you are finding yourself driving with a load of oversteer throughout most of the stint on the soft tyre.

“It’s pretty tricky. We did an okay job today and we should be happy with the performance of the car, we know there is areas we need to work on.

“The basic car is working well, but we are not quite there with the balance yet I don’t think. There were a few things that we wanted to really try but you don’t get enough time when you are doing long runs.”

Quizzed about having less tyres for qualifying tomorrow, he told reporters: “There is going to be a lot of rubber down tomorrow which is a good thing.

“Obviously we do have less tyres, which will mix it up a little bit when you run new tyres. But we have just got to hope that we are very quick in Q1 and we don’t have to run new tyres.

“I’m sure that’s not going to be the case because you have got three teams that are not as quick as the rest, but then the rest are very tightly packed.”

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

Kumho is the latest tyres manufacturer to embrace the world of social networking in its marketing efforts.

The tyres company plans to increase its marketing push on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube “to reach current and future Kumho enthusiasts.”

According to the Modern Tyre Dealer website, the “Kumho Tyre” fanpage on Facebook allows motorists to get:

* updates on upcoming new products,

* insights on Kumho’s motorsports activities and drivers, and

* exclusive access to contests and giveaways.

Rick Brennan, vice president of marketing for the company, said: “Many of our loyal fans are already active users of Facebook and other social media sites so it was just a natural extension for Kumho to join and be a member of this thriving community.”

Kumho also will leverage YouTube’s popularity by posting numerous videos featuring Kumho’s family of high performance tyres; the “Kumho Girls”; and Kumho TORC Series drivers such as Ricky and Luke Johnson.

Brennan added: “By focusing our efforts on the web and online video, we are, in essence, reaching our loyal enthusiasts on a more personal and relevant manner and inspiring our fans to spread the word about Kumho Tyre.”

Michelin and Falken are two other tyres manufacturers who have started to take advantage of social networking sites to boost brand awareness.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

It’s billed as the Lesser Race of the new Formula One season - and it doesn’t even take place on the track.

It’s the race in the pit lanes to change four tyres faster than you can say FIA 2010 Formula One World Championship!

Every second counts for the mechanics as they prepare for the first race of the season in Bahrain this Sunday.

Red Bull are already boasting they can do the job in a staggering 1.8 seconds!

Up until now there was less pressure on the tyre men to make the changes as refuelling could take seven or eight seconds.

But with the introduction of the re-fueling ban during the race the soul reason for the two compulsory pitstops is to have the tyres changed.

So this year teams are under more pressure than ever before to hone their ability to perform a pit stop in the quickest possible time.

Much like for the drivers and aerodynamicists, shaving every last fraction of a second from the time is crucial for F1’s pit crews, to the extent that even the slightest of delays during a pit stop could decide the outcome of a race.

“We have done sub-two second stops. They are absolutely lightning,” said team principle Christian Horner. “The guys have trained like hell over the winter. They have all lost weight and got fitter in the process.”

Red Bull have had their pit crews doing static practice stops at their base since November, but they admit that in a real race environment their 1.8 second pitstops will be around a second slower than times seen at the factory, especially given the possibility of delays in communication between the crew.

Other teams have also been concentrating on the tyre changing issue and some have taken more radical approaches.

Ferrari have introduced a wheel nut which features ‘automatic triggering of its fastener’, and have brought back an updated version of their ‘traffic light’ system that they ditched after 2008, in an attempt to reduce the delay in human reaction times.

Meanwhile Mercedes have introduced a similar system in place of the traditional ‘lolly pop’ method, whilst Renault will bring specially adapted wheel nuts and a new front jack with a quick-release mechanism.

Alex Kapadia, Operations Team

Michelin is launching the latest addition to its winter tyres range - the fourth generation Michelin Alpin.

The French tyres manufacturer claims the new model allows motorists to “drive with confidence, one winter longer”.

The new, more fuel-efficient tyre has been designed to fit a wide range of vehicles, from city cars and compacts to MPVs and sedans.

It will be launched on the European replacement market in first-half 2010 in all regions where winter roads are generally wet – around 80% of the time – and less often icy or snow-covered (20%).

Michelin states that the Alpin delivers unrivaled performance in terms of grip, tread life and energy efficiency in all winter driving conditions, through rain, ice or snow.

From a practical standpoint, the tyre’s grip enables drivers to get moving 10% faster* than its predecessor and brake 5% shorter**, while it’s longer tread life means that the MICHELIN Alpin allows motorists to drive farther – up to one winter longer – than its leading major-brand competitors***.

*Average performance on icy or snow-covered surfaces. Tests performed in 2010 by independent technical services firm TÜV SÜD Automotive on size 195/65 R15 T and 205/55 R16 H tyres.

**Average performance on wet, icy or snow-covered surfaces. *Tests performed in 2010 by independent technical services firm TÜV SÜD Automotive on size 195/65 R15 T and 205/55 R16 H tires; other tests conducted in-house.

***The MICHELIN Alpin A4 can be driven 35% farther on average than its main competitors. Tests performed in 2010 by independent technical services firm TÜV SÜD Automotive on size 195/65 R15 T and 205/55 R16 H tyres.

Oliver Hall, Operations Team

Two Bridgestone tyres chiefs have been airing their thoughts on the start of the 2010 Formula One World Championship ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.

Hiroshi Yasukawa, director of Motorsport for the tyres company, said: “This will be our fourteenth season in Formula One and we are anticipating a fantastic year ahead of exciting racing.

“We will be welcoming new teams, the return of Michael Schumacher after three seasons away and the introduction of regulation changes, all of which will play a part in making Formula One a fascinating sport to follow this year.

“For Bridgestone, the sport will continue to play a strong role in providing our sales companies with strong promotional and marketing opportunities and the Middle East, being a strategically important market for us, is an excellent place to start the season.”

Hirohide Hamashima, director of motorsport tyre development for Bridgestone, added: “There are both technical and logistical challenges for Bridgestone in 2010.

“No refuelling means we have modified the tyre construction and have all new compounds of dry tyres.

“As well as cars which will be approximately 100kgs heavier at the start of the race, we will see different pit stop strategies this season and the top ten cars starting with their qualifying tyres brings many strategy considerations for teams too.

“In terms of logistics we have new teams and 19 races.

“The Sakhir circuit layout is different this year, with an additional eight turns, and this will have an impact on tyre wear and car set up.

“We have the super soft tyre, which is from our lower temperature working range, and the medium, which is from our higher temperature working range.

“All this sets us up for a very exciting opening race to the season, especially with only relatively limited running in pre-season testing.”

Surrey has been named as the pothole capital of the UK as potholes are becoming more prevalent across the country, according to a new survey.

The average repair bill from damaged caused by potholes is around £750, with split tyres, scratched alloys and suspension failure being the most common complaints.

The survey, carried out by Kia Motors UK, has identified that 1,998 potholes afflict Surrey’s 450,000 motorists, a figure that comfortably beats second placed county Hampshire, where drivers have logged a still significant 892 potholes.

The report follows previous pothole research and was inspired by Kia dealerships who, this year, have reported a 150% increase in pothole related repairs.

A major contributing factor to this figure has to be the coldest recorded UK winter in 30 years, but this is little consolation when the average repair bill for such impact is averaging £750.

Here are the top 10 offending counties in detail:

1. Surrey (1,998 reported potholes)
2. Hampshire (892)
3. Kent (857)
4. Hertfordshire (855)
5. Oxfordshire (796)
6. Lancashire (733)
7. Essex (734)
8. West Sussex (680)
9. Buckinghamshire (678)
10. Gloucestershire (655)

Existing etyres customers who suffer a puncture are entitled to free repairs, however, if they need to replace the damaged tyre, etyres prices are up to 40% cheaper than the leading high street tyre depots.

Oliver Hall, Operations Team