Formula One racer Heikki Kovalainen, often described as ‘wing man’ to his McLaren team mate Lewis Hamilton, is delighted with the return of slick tyres.

The Finnish driver is reported to be looking forward to the switch from grooved tyres back to slicks, because they give more feedback and are more fun in slow corners.

Kovalainen said: “For me, it’s the right way to go.  To be able to be aggressive with the car.  It grips the ground better.”

He says the decision by Bridgestone to supply two vastly different compounds of race tyre, one for speed and the other for durability, could bring new tactical choices into the mix for the Australian Grand Prix.

“It’s something we need to bear in mind,” he said.

“Once the tyres give up you can lose many seconds a lap. The difference is more than we had last year. We think one tyre will be much more durable.

“In theory at least, one tyre will be very weak. It might be good for a single lap but not so durable.”

The Melbourne Grand Prix gets under starters orders this Sunday!

Alex Kapadia, Operations Executive

By Katherine Clarkson

Hundreds of French workers rallied in Paris yesterday and burned tyres to protest about the planned shutdown of a Continental tyres plant.

The angry demonstrators chanted slogans as they gathered at the Elysee Palace in a bid to avert the closure of the German-owned tyres factory in nearby Clairoix.

Continental announced last week that it was going to close the plant, which employs 1,120 workers, in 2010.  The company stated the move was necessary in the wake of the global downturn and the collapse of the auto industry.

The tyres firm predicted overproduction of 15 million tyres this year and a production total of only 100 million, down from 110 million last year.

Earlier this month the director of the site was pelted with eggs as he tried to address angry workers. Unions are protesting against the site’s closure as Continental made £25 million in profits in France in 2008.

France’s government has said the announcement of the site closure was not legal, as the company’s central works council was not notified, a fact which is contested by Continental.

By Katherine Clarkson

Which? magazine has got to grips with tyres in its latest April issue.

The UK’s leading consumer magazine has focused the spotlight on one important area – maintenance.

The report states: ‘In the past, we’ve gone to great lengths to test how tyres wear in normal service. 

‘However, with a readership as large as our, it’s difficult to emulate conditions that represent ‘normal service’ for everyone, so for this report we’ve decided to give our top tips for maximising tyre life.’

The top Which? tips include:

Check the pressure of each tyre (when cold), including the spare, every two weeks and before long journeys.  Adjust them to the correct pressure for the load you’re carrying.  See your handbook (or the driver’s door pillar) for details.  Under-inlfation will cause wear to the outer edges of the tread.  Over-inflation wears the centre.  Both can cause unpredictable handling.

Avoid harsh braking, rapid acceleration and fast cornering, which cause tyres to wear quickly, and avoid hitting kerbs or potholes, which can cause internal damage.

Don’t use a pressure washer on tyres.  This can wash away essential oils added to protect tyres from the sun.

Michelin tyres have launched a fascinating insight into their world – past, present and future – called L’Aventure in Clermont-Ferrand.

The French tyres manufacturer exhibition encapsulates 120 years of innovation in a self-guided tour, which includes many multimedia screens and interactive displays which allow visitors to build in their own experience.

One of the technical innovations on display is the “fly cage,” which clearly shows the principle of the radial tyre as well as the many components used in its manufactures.

The public can also see in real time the process involved in manufacturing a tyre, a complex product despite its simple appearance.

With their newly acquired knowledge of mobility solutions, visitors then move on to get a glimpse of the future, as envisioned by Michelin research teams.

One display enables them to take a simulated test ride on one of three tracks at the Michelin Technology Centre. Strapped into a bucket seat in front of a screen, they can experience all the sensations felt by Michelin drivers out on the test track.

Visitors also learn about Michelin’s research priorities for the future, which focus on solutions intended to protect the environment.

The exhibition opens to the public on 31^st March 2009 and for more information about opening hours, admission rates and advance bookings go to  www.laventuremichelin.com (an English version will be available shortly).

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Tyres maker Michelin has extended its exclusive deal to supply tyres to the Superleague Formula for the next two race seasons.

The French tyres manufacturer will supply its tyres to all the teams for testing and competition at least until the end of the 2010 season.

Robin Webb, Superleague Formula’s Competition Director, said: ‘We are pleased to be working with Michelin for the next two seasons.

‘Michelin has an outstanding reputation in motorsport and stands for quality and reliability.  It has a vast amount of experience and will enhance the competitive nature of our series.’

Superleague Formula bills itself as ‘the fusion of the the two world’s most popular sports - capturing the passion of football with the thril and excitement of motor racing’.

The new concept kicked off in August 2008 with a field of V12-powered 750 horsepower single seater racecars bearing the colours of the world’s leading football teams.

the sport, still in its infancy, claims: ‘Traditional rivals on the pitch will do battle at some of the world’s greatest racetracks.  This is more than just a race, Superleague Formula will provide a spectacular entertainment package for al the family at each event.’

Alex Kapadia, Operations Executive

By Alex Kapadia

There’s no doubt Formula One has undergone its biggest change for 25 years.

The cars have been subjected to a massive aerodynamic overhaul, slick tyres have been reintroduced and the new speed boost system KERS is making its debut.

But it’s not just the new tyres and technology that have got everyone buzzing – it’s the fact that the new rules means the drivers are expected to be competing on a more even playing field.

And two of the most talked-about drivers are our very own Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

As the reigning world champ, all eyes should be focused on Hamilton during the first Grand Prix of the season in Melbourne on Sunday.

Up until a few weeks ago, he was the front-runner to defend that title but a rollercoaster series of pre-season tests has seen Button marked out as favourite for victory in Melbourne, while Hamilton appears to be struggling to have the pace to even finish on the podium, let alone top it.

After Honda pulled out of F1 it looked uncertain Button would climb back into the cockpit, but following a late management buy-out and being re-born as Brawn GP, the team – and Button - have surprised many with their pre-season testing success.

BBC One will broadcast the Australian Grand Prix from 6am – 9am on Sunday 29^th March.  It will also screen a race re-run between 1pm – 3pm the same afternoon.

By Oliver Hall

The world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano, couldn’t have been made without the collective effort of some of the biggest and best tyres and component suppliers in the world.

From tyres to air conditioning, the big names used their joint ingenuity to find low cost solutions to producing the £1,400 run-around which was launched in India last week.

India’s largest tyres manufacturer became the exclusive partner in development of the tyres for the first lot of cars. MRF used tubeless tyres of different widths for the front and the rear.

Their brief was three-pronged — low rolling resistance for better efficiency, good ride and tyre life characteristics and a tyre setup that dials out any traces of oversteer.

The last part turned out to be the biggest challenge, and one of the reasons why a wider tyre for the rear was utilised.

Other big hitters who came onboard to make the project work included Bosch, who were asked to develop the engine management system for the car. A relatively complicated and expensive component in general, Bosch imported the control unit, sensors and actuators for the car.

For the Nano, it created a blink mode that allows for the car’s health to be detected even without a diagnostic tool. One can also know the fuel efficiency during the last five cycles. Despite trying to keep costs in check, Bosch also managed to have a limp-home mode in case some sensors on the EMS fail.

For a small car, a powerful air-conditioner that doesn’t sap engine power was crucial. Behr, the German air-conditioning expert was roped in to provide a powerful system that crucially didn’t sap the engines power.

Apparently, tyres made partially from orange peels and motor oil made from animal fat are part of the green future for sports car racing in the US.

No – don’t check your calendar, this is NOT an April Fool’s Day joke.

Last week Yokohoma introduced its ADVAN ENV-R tyres, which combine orange oil made from discarded peels with natural rubber to form a new compound called Super Nano-Power Rubber.

The tyres were debuted at Sebring International Raceway and will be used on Porsche 911 race cars in the Patrol GT23 Challenge, a series sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association.

But the bizarre merger of food stuff and car components doesn’t end there, because IMSA also sanctions the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), which likes to call itself the most environmentally friendly racing series in the world.

And ALMS has signed a two year agreement with Green Earth Technologies to make its official motor oil G-Oil, a green motor oil made mostly from American-grown beef tallow.

G-Oil only recently certified for use in motor vehicles, will initially be used only in ALMS trucks and official vehicles.  ALMS officials said they expect several teams to begin using the new oil in their race cars when the new product becomes readily available.

You heard it here first!

Denna Bowman, Head Office

With its tiny tubeless tyres and one windscreen wiper, the cheapest car in the world should be trundling its way onto Briton’s roads by 2011.

The no-frills approach to manufacturing the little Tata Nano has meant it runs on dinky 12-inch tyres and doesn’t have any air vents – but these are small sacrifices to make for a car that will only cost around £4,000.

Although the price tag for buyers in India, where it was launched last week, is a miniscule £1,400, it will have to be inflated for the European market to meet our tougher safety standards.

But the little gem got the thumbs up from the Sun newspaper’s excellent motoring editor, Ken Gibson.  He wrote: ‘This really is no-frills motoring — the thin seats are in a cheap plastic and there is only one windscreen wiper blade and one wing mirror, on the driver’s side.

‘There are no air vents, the windows wind down manually, the 12-inch tubeless tyres have only three wheel nuts and to fill up you have to go under the bonnet.

‘But precisely because of all this, the Nano has character.’

Oliver Hall, Operations Executive

By Denna Bowman

Women are worse than men when it comes to checking tyres, according to a new survey.

A staggering two-thirds of women rely on their partner to check the safety of their car and tyres, the report claims.

And one in 10 drivers are currently driving on tyres below the legal 1.6mm minimum tread depth, according to the study by Continental tyres.

The tyres manufacturer surveyed 4,000 drivers and its results come on the back of another report by the National Tyres Distributors Association (NTDA) which claims 3.6 million Britons are driving on illegal tyres.

Continental also discovered that seven out of 10 drivers have no idea what the minimum tread is, four out of 10 never check their tyre pressure and one in three can’t even change a wheel.

Tim Bailey, head of safety for Continental Tyres, said: ‘It takes very little time to check. Yet we still do not recognise the risks we take by not checking.’