SEPANG, Malaysia — The FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) has designated Goodyear to be the series' exclusive race tire supplier for the coming three seasons, replacing Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. in that role after a 14-year run as the exclusive supplier.
The deal is the latest in a series of moves by Goodyear to re-engage with the world road-racing community after a nearly two-decade hiatus. Financial terms were not disclosed.
In the past several months Goodyear has secured race tire supply contracts with the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), European LeMans Series (ELMS) and British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) after declaring in June its intention to re-enter the international sports-car racing scene with the Goodyear brand.
Goodyear's deal with the WTCR includes provisions for Goodyear to link up with WTCR promoter Eurosport Events to provide an international flagship for the promotor's #backtoracing campaign and year-long across the Discovery/Eurosport network.
Eurosport is owned by global broadcaster Discovery Inc.
Citing Goodyear's "long and successful history" in motorsport, Eurosport Events Head François Ribeiro said, "Discovery and Goodyear will be very active together all year long to reconnect that iconic brand into the racing community with quality content and a full range of very creative activations. We have no doubt that Goodyear will be a first-class partner on the technical and marketing fronts of WTCR."
Goodyear is tying its expanded motorsports engagement with the launch of its Eagle F1 SuperSport tyre in the ultra-ultra-high-performance (UUHP) tire range.
The WTCR features cars operating under Touring Car Racing (TCR) rules — front-wheel-drive, four/five-door saloons or hatchbacks using turbocharged production engines with a capacity of 1.75 to 2 liters and a maximum power output of 350hp.
Among vehicle makers with cars homologated are Alfa Romeo, Audi, Honda, Hyundai, Lynk & Co., Peugeot and Volkswagen.
Mike Rytokoski, vice president and chief marketing officer, Goodyear Consumer Europe, said this deal "complements our recent comeback into global motorsport through the FIA World Endurance Championship. It allows Goodyear to connect with fans in a wide range of countries, and also prove the performance of our Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport range of racing tires."
In the case of the WEC, ELMS and BTCC, Goodyear is designating the Goodyear brand in place of the Dunlop brand, which has been race tire brand in use for much of the past decade-plus.
Mr. Ribeiro also thanked Yokohama for its "unwavering support of WTCR – and the FIA World Touring Car Championship before that – and the expertise and professionalism it brought to the series over the last 14 years."
The WTCR adopted new sporting regulations two years ago.
Goodyear last competed in the FIA European Touring Car Championship in the 1970s and '80s.
For 2020, the WTCR series has scheduled 10 races at circuits in Africa, Asia and Europe, staring April 3-5 in Marakech, Morocco, and finishing Dec. 10-13 in Sepang, Malaysia.