Yokohama loses Macau F3 tyre supply in ‘last minute’ deal with Pirelli
Japanese tyre manufacturer Yokohama was dealt an unexpected surprise this week, losing the supply deal for the Macau Grand Prix Formula 3 (F3) event in an apparent “last minute” deal with another tyre brand– Pirelli.
This will be the first time since the race adopted F3 regulations back in 1983 that the racers will not be using tyres from the Japanese giant. The announcement of the change made on Wednesday at the FIA World Motor Sport Council took Yokohama company by surprise.
The Times learned from sources close to the Japanese manufacturer that the tyres for the Macau event were in fact already in production and would be soon ready for shipment. The company was informed of the “change of plans” only through an announcement after the FIA meeting.
According to motorsport publication Autosport, three brands were in competition for the deal: Yokohama (official supplier for Japanese F3 Championship), Hankook (official supplier for European F3 Championship) and Pirelli (currently the tyre supplier for F1, GP2 and GP3 series and also the supplier for some F4 championships).
According to the same source, eventually the FIA discounted South Korean Hankook, leaving the dispute between Pirelli and Yokohama only.
Sources close to FIA have mentioned that it was expected that the final choice, at least for this year, would fall to the Japanese supplier since Pirelli has not supplied or tested recently in the F3 category.
However, contrary to the “rumours” about who would be the FIA’s first choice, it was in fact the Italian company – which, since March 2015, is entirely owned by the Chinese state-owned enterprise China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) – that won the deal.
ChemChina Company was founded by and is presided by Chinese businessman Ren Jianxin. Since the acquisition of Pirelli, he has taken on the role of Chairman of Pirelli.
The involvement of the FIA in the organization of this year’s Macau race has already led to several delays, rescheduling and the pullout of the former race coordinator Barry Bland.
ID says change is FIA’s responsibility
The president of the Sports Bureau (ID), the entity that is organizing the Macau GP for the first time, responded yesterday to the last minute change on the tyre supplier, saying that it is the exclusive responsibility of FIA. “FIA as an international federation has its own procedures and we have to act accordingly,” said Pun Weng Kun, explaining that the international organization opened a tender and a new tyre supplier won. The decision from FIA puts the two main events of the Macau GP schedule, the FIA GT World Cup and Formula 3 World Cup races, running exclusively on Pirelli tyres.
Formula E building up in ‘good atmosphere,’ 40,000 expected to attend
The first Formula race event to be held in Hong Kong is expecting an attendance of 40,000 people who will fill the stands for the inaugural event of the 2016/2017 season.
According to the Chief Executive of the Formula Electric Racing (Hong Kong), Alan Fang, around 16,000 tickets have already sold for both the grandstands and eVillage access.
“I believe the public interest has been driven by the fact that the event appeals to a wide cross-section of interests with world-class sport and entertainment throughout the weekend,” said Fang to The Standard.
The event includes not only the Formula E race but also a touring car race featuring 16 Hong Kong celebrities.
A charity parade with supercars and a boxing event featuring Hong Kong’s “The Wonder Kid” Rex Tso are also part of the extensive programme.
The events will take place during the weekend of October 8 and 9.
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