Often the only time they hit the headlines are when scraps of rubber are sent flying in all directions after a failure. In other words, tyres are not always the most interesting of subjects aside from when something goes wrong. Yet tyres have increasingly become a hot topic in national motorsport in recent months, for very different reasons.
The announcement in October that Avon Tyres owner Goodyear was beginning a consultation process about closing the Melksham manufacturing site – potentially resulting in a loss of jobs and the famous name disappearing – caused shockwaves in certain corners of the sport. Then it emerged that other tyre makers such as Yokohama were undergoing a restructure and reassessing their rubber ranges, which in turn created further uncertainty. And this all followed a period when some tyres had been in short supply.
But, before examining the impact of Goodyear’s decision and the wider changes in the industry, it is important to consider the challenges manufacturers have faced over the past few years. And, inevitably, the COVID-19 pandemic has had
