JK Tyre is a pioneer in motorsports in India with the credit to transform an unorganised and casual interest in racing into organised motorsport. With the sole purpose of growing the motorsports community in India, the company’s motorsports journey began in the early 1980s when it associated with The Himalayan Rally – India’s premier international event. “Ingraining motorsports in India has always been a key priority for JK Tyre. In India, motorsport is at the key junction of going from a niche to a populous sport, with a cult following,” says Sanjay Sharma, Head – Motorsport, JK Tyre & Industries Limited.

For JK Tyre, motorsport has played a vital role in providing the most potent platform to test tyres in the most extraordinary conditions in absolute terms and to reach out to youth and demonstrate technological prowess to build the brand. Sharma further explains, “Motorsports allow us to continuously test and update our products to offer the best possible tyres for passenger or commercial vehicles. Thanks to its competitive nature, motorsporting activities also inspired us to pioneer the technology used in producing high-performance tyres capable of running in treacherous conditions and at high speeds in racing and rallies.

“More importantly, motorsport is a perfect brand-building exercise for any automobile tyre manufacturer, which allows positioning themselves as an adventurer which  connects with the youth instantly, and excelling and winning also demonstrates the effectiveness of our products. JK Tyre’s name is synonymous with motorsport, and we are committed to making India the motorsport hub of Asia and putting in place a system that is constantly unearthing fresh talent and readying drivers for the global stage.”

Legacy

The company has been associated with a multitude of big and small events happening across India every year. It has invested in motorsport programmes for budding racers interested in taking up motorsport as a career. Today, JK Tyre is present in all the verticals of motorsport, from karting, racing, time-speed-distance navigational events, national and international rallying to 2-wheeler racing, truck racing and off-roading coupled with experiential events and expeditions in the country.

JK Tyre’s National Karting Championship has been running successfully for over 15 years. “Our National Karting Championship is serving as a breeding ground for budding racers. Jehan Daruvala, Arjun Maini, Kush Maini and Yash Aradhya, who have won laurels for the country in the international arena, have all started with us and been our national karting champions,” adds Sharma.

JK Tyre National Racing Championship is the longest-running racing championship in the country, which is in its 24th successive year. It was also the first company to acquire the FIA accredited series Formula BMW and rechristened it as the JK Racing Asia Series, which ran as a support race across F1 tracks in Asia and Europe. Subsequently, the company introduced the series as part of its National Racing Championship as JK Euro Cup to give the Indian racers a chance to race in the FIA accredited Formula 3 cars on their home turf. 

The company was one of the inaugural partners of the franchise based X1 Racing League in 2019 and partners of Racing Team India for its debut at Asian Le Mans 2021. “We have been leading in the Indian National Rally Championship with our ace driver, Arjuna Awardee and also our brand ambassador Gaurav Gill winning the coveted title for the seventh time,” adds Sharma.

According to Sharma, back then, the country lacked the infrastructure required for motorsports, and JK Tyre has been actively developing world-class infrastructure. “To nurture and mentor young talent, we have put together a step by step motorsport progression ladder for budding enthusiasts. We encourage young talent in our karting championships post. They graduate to race in the Indian make Formula 4 cars and then further move to Formula 3 cars in the JK Tyre National Racing Championship. After that, they go on to compete in major international events on a global stage. For this, we also introduced India’s first motorsport academy to foster the spirit of young racers,” elaborates Sharma.

Grooming New Breeds

Currently, JK Tyre has the best grid of rally drivers in the Indian National Rally Championship. Along with Indian rally ace Gaurav Gill’s expertise, the company has kickstarted a Rally Academy where Gaurav himself mentors its team of rally drivers.

“An important part of our goal when we became involved with motorsport was to develop the sport and support its sportsmen, and not just use it for product development. Today, we are proud to state that 90 percent of Indians flying the national flag globally are in one way or other have been a part of the JK Tyre development programme. When the Indian National Anthem plays on an international podium, it is indeed a proud moment for us,” says Sharma.

Tyre Test On Racing Turf

For JK Tyre, motorsport is essential in tyre development as it provides an organic testing ground for its products. The conditions in motorsports are not simulated and prove effective in comprehending actual results on the ground, without parameters and conditionalities.

 Motorsport drivers have a more diverse range of needs for their tyres, challenging to meet and balance the off-road rally events tyres on the track. Racing events are different and call for different tyre design approaches. Major performance expectations from tyres are extremely good longitudinal grip for quick braking and acceleration and excellent lateral grip for sharp cornering. They must be robust enough to operate in different terrains and on various surfaces without any punctures and structural damage. These requirements push tyre designers to the limits and constantly make designers think out of the box. “To meet the performance requirements of motorsport tyres, unique tyre pattern designs, constructions and compounds have to be developed. Few of these designs and compounds are horizontally deployed in commercial tyres as well to enhance the performance,” says Sharma.

 Gaining Popularity

Sharma thinks that motorsport is gaining traction in India. He adds that while cricket remains the preferred sport, motorsport still is the second most-watched sport in India. “Motorsport is a unique combination of man and machine. And with technology advancing, the sport also has seen much advancement in the country. In the last 10 years, the way progress has been made is almost at par with the world. The Indian motorsports industry has grown multifold over the past few years and will continue on this growth path in the future as well. With increasing participation in international rallies and events, the country’s role in global motorsports has never been this recognised.

“From Khel Ratna Deepa Mallik to Padma Shri Narain Karthikeyan and from Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Gill to Pradhan Mantri Bal Puruskar awardee Yash Aradhya, they are all standing examples of motorsport getting its due recognition. Over the years, we have seen many auto and auto ancillary manufacturers use this platform in one way or another, either by participating in the sport or using it to test their products. In any case, the industry participation is unparallel to any other sport,” explains Sharma.

Women In Motorsports

Sharma claims Initiatives of JK have encouraged the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) to focus on women in motorsport. Today in India, there is a commission that only concentrates on women in motorsport with its principal supporter JK Tyre. Over the years, JK Tyre has also played a proactive role in encouraging women to take to the sport, and its efforts have yielded satisfying results.

“JK Tyre adopted FIA’s highly successful initiative: the Girls on Track (GoT) programme, to spread awareness at the grassroots level and encourage girls to come to the race track and take to the sport. The event attracted a huge number of entries from young girls from across the country,” adds Sharma.

Sneha Sharma and Mira Erda emerged from JK Tyre’s karting programmes and are now competing in international formula racing. In fructification of these efforts, the JK Tyre National Racing Championship also features an all-women’s motor racing team. In addition to this, the company has specially curated women-centric TSD events like the Times Women Drive, Defence Wives Power Drive, FICCI Flo and Rally to the valley, which are the most awaited events in the calendar. “Today, in any and every vertical of motorsport, there is almost up to 20 percent participation of women on each grid,” adds Sharma.

Going Forward

JK Tyre will continue to consolidate its partnership with motorsports across verticals and continue investing in technology and bringing India closer to world standards. “We have already seen a tremendous growth of motorsport in the past decade. However, there’s still a long way to go. We pride ourselves on our active participation in almost every vertical of motorsport event happening in the country and will continue to do so in the forthcoming years. While the pandemic may have slowed the progress, the motorsport industry will be back in action with the upcoming seasons to look forward,” concludes Sharma.(TT)

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

The European Commission has approved a €71.6m Hungarian state aid measure to support Hankook Tire & Technology Co. Ltd. in establishing a new tyre manufacturing line, in a project aimed at boosting employment and industrial capacity in central Hungary.

The aid, equivalent to HUF28bn, will support the construction of a truck and bus radial tyre facility in the Central Transdanubia region. The investment forms part of a broader €538m project to expand Hankook’s existing plant in Fejér County, which currently produces tyres for passenger cars and light trucks.

The measure will be provided as a direct grant and is expected to create 469 jobs, primarily in manufacturing.

The Commission assessed the scheme under EU state aid rules, notably Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Regional Aid Guidelines. It concluded that the measure is necessary and appropriate to support economic development, competitiveness and employment in a disadvantaged region.

The Commission also found that the aid has an incentive effect, noting that the company would not have undertaken the project within the European Economic Area without public support. It further determined that the measure is proportionate and limited to the minimum necessary, remaining within the aid intensity thresholds defined in Hungary’s regional aid map.

The Commission said the scheme would have a limited impact on competition and trade within the EU and therefore approved the measure under state aid rules.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Pirelli has entered into a strategic agreement with Swedish technology firm Univrses to integrate artificial intelligence-based computer vision systems into its Cyber Tyre platform. As part of the deal, Pirelli has acquired a 30 percent stake in Univrses, with an option to increase that share to a majority holding. The collaboration will embed Univrses’ 3DAI technologies into Pirelli’s existing Cyber Tyre solutions, creating a unified system aimed at producing safer and higher performing vehicles.

The combined technology has potential applications in advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving. It also generates timely, actionable data for road management, helping authorities make better decisions and deploy resources more efficiently. This could lead to fewer road accidents and saved lives. The system uses onboard cameras and tyres to collect feedback on road conditions. Pirelli’s Cyber Tyre, the first integrated hardware and software system of its kind, gathers data from tyre sensors, processes it with proprietary algorithms and communicates in real time with vehicle electronics and the cloud.

Univrses originally developed its technology to help cars understand their surroundings, but it has since been adapted to turn vehicles into AI-powered road monitoring agents. The Swedish company’s 3DAI Engine provides autonomous vehicles with perception capabilities including 3D positioning, mapping and spatial deep learning. Its 3DAI system digitises roadside infrastructure using data from vehicle-mounted sensors like cameras.

A pilot project is already active in Italy. In 2025, Pirelli and the Puglia Region launched a road network monitoring system to create an updated map of infrastructure conditions. The system analyses data from tyres via the Cyber Tyre platform alongside visual data from cameras interpreted by Univrses’ technology.

Andrea Casaluci, CEO, Pirelli, said, “The agreement with Univrses further enhances our Cyber Tyre™ platform, thanks to advanced AI‑based artificial vision technologies. The collaboration between Pirelli and Univrses will make a significant contribution to the ongoing transformation of cars into true software‑defined vehicles.”

Jonathan Selbie, CEO, Univrses, said, “Continuous monitoring and data are becoming the new foundation for infrastructure asset management, and Univrses technology is able to provide powerful analytical capabilities based on reliable and frequently updated data. In this context, we are pleased to welcome Pirelli as an investor and to take our partnership to the next level: we will join forces to deliver increasingly advanced services and products.”

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

ZC Rubber is preparing a major European-focused showcase at THE TIRE COLOGNE, scheduled to run from 9 to 11 June 2026. The tyre manufacturer will occupy Booth C050g in Hall 8.1, highlighting its WESTLAKE and GOODRIDE brands with a clear emphasis on products tailored specifically for regional market demands.

The display will blend imminent and future innovations. Products destined for a European launch in the latter half of 2026 will appear alongside the company’s current truck and bus radial lineup. Selected previews of developments planned for 2027 will also be on view. A featured attraction is the Westlake Sport RS2, a drift-proven ultra-high-performance tyre praised for its grip, precision and 180 treadwear rating. A renewed rubber compound, developed through work with the Red Bull Driftbrothers, now delivers steadier traction under severe driving conditions. Appearing at the stand, Red Bull Driftbrothers driver and engineer Elias Hountondji will illustrate how motorsport data directly refines ZC Rubber’s product engineering.

Additional new passenger car radial models for Europe in the second half of 2026 include the Westlake ZuperFlex Z-137, Goodride RideMax G-147, the all-season Westlake Zuper4S Z-411 and the off-road focused Westlake Terra Legend SL399 and Goodride Mud Legend SL388. On the truck and bus side, already available tyres such as the Westlake WSL2, Westlake WDL2+ and Goodride S2, D3 and D4 will be exhibited, covering steer and drive axle needs for long-haul and heavy-duty transport.

A sneak peek at 2027 offerings will feature the Westlake Z-301 commercial van tyre, Goodride All Season G-721, Goodride SnowComfort G-518 and new TBR models including the Westlake WTL2, Westlake WTR OEM and Goodride M2. ZC Rubber’s team will remain on-site throughout the event, welcoming visitors and partners to the booth for meetings and professional discussions.

Leo Liao, General Manager, ZC Rubber Europe, said, “This year’s showcase reflects a much broader and more complete portfolio for Europe. From UHP and all-season tyres to all-terrain, mud-terrain and TBR solutions, we are bringing new developments across almost every major segment. This reflects how seriously we take the European market: we are listening to local needs, investing in the right products and building a portfolio that better matches the needs of our European partners.”

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Magna Tyres has launched the MA801 TR, a new solid tyre engineered for extreme operating conditions in recycling facilities and heavy industrial settings. Designed to maximise equipment uptime while supporting high load capacities, the tyre is built to deliver dependable performance in harsh environments. The official debut of the MA801 TR will take place at IFAT 2026 in Munich, scheduled from 4 to 7 May 2026.

The new model is intended for compact wheel loaders and telescopic handlers, featuring a flat-free solid construction. Its extra-deep non‑directional tread is reinforced by a triangular structural design, which enhances traction and stability on surfaces littered with sharp debris. Available in sizes 13.00‑24 and 14.00‑24, the tyre prioritises puncture resistance and reduced maintenance needs.

Thanks to its robust architecture and deep tread profile, the MA801 TR offers an extended service life and consistent performance across demanding work cycles. By eliminating the risk of flats, Magna Tyres positions the tyre as a reliable solution for recycling and industrial operations where continuous heavy loads are standard.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!