Goodyear strikes tire deal with European endurance racing series

PORTIMAO, Portugal — Goodyear has stuck a deal with the organizers of the European LeMans Series (ELMS) racing series to make Goodyear the designated race tire brand for the series' LM-GTE class for production-based supercars.

The agreement — announced during the ELMS 2019 season finale at the Algarve International Circuit near Portimao — replaces one Goodyear had with the ELMS for the Dunlop brand and is an extension of the U.S. tiremaker's efforts to revive the Goodyear brand's presence in the international motorsports arena.

Goodyear disclosed in June its intention to re-enter international sports-car racing with its Goodyear brand after a 13-year hiatus.

The agreement with the ELMS means all competitors in the GTE class — which is open to a range of performance/luxury cars, including the Ferrari F488 GTE EVO, Porsche 911 RSR and Aston Martin Vantage V8 — will run on Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport racing tires, allowing Goodyear to tie it in with the launch earlier this year of the Eagle F1 SuperSport road-legal tire.

At the same time, Goodyear disclosed it will be offering Goodyear-brand tires to teams in the ELMS' top prototype class (LMP2) next season. This overlaps with firm's decision to start supplying Goodyear-brand race tires to competitors in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).

These agreements mean the end of the Dunlop brand in ELMS competition, where it has competed head-to-head with Michelin for the past several seasons. Nine of the 18 LMP2 cars competing in 2019 were on Dunlop, according to ELMS data.

The 2019 season champions, IDEC Sport, used Michelin, according to the ELMS.

The LMP2 cars in the ELMS run the same vehicle specifications as the WEC, Goodyear Racing Director Ben Crawley said, a situation that will allow Goodyear to accelerate the development of its endurance racing tires for both series.

"Our WEC comeback applies our knowledge and technology in one of the most demanding championships in racing," Mr. Crawley said. "To extend this development to ELMS means we get to work with a wider range of cars, teams and drivers as well as showcase the Goodyear brand at some of Europe's most prestigious circuits."

In the ELMS, the GTE (E for "endurance") class is for limited-edition GT cars, at least 100 examples of which must have been produced for homologation. The class tends to be a draw for manufacturer-backed teams.

"The LMGTE category fits perfectly with Goodyear's recent launch of the Eagle F1 SuperSport road-legal tire," Mr. Crawley said, noting that Porsche A.G. homologated the RS version of this range for its Porsche 911 GT2 RS and GT3 RS models.

Gérard Neveu, CEO of the ELMS, said: "Goodyear is one of the iconic names in motorsport. … They bring vast experience as well as their prestige, investment and technology to the European Le Mans Series."

The 2020 ELMS season consists of six 4-hour endurance races, starting April 3-5 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain, and concluding Oct. 23-25 back at Portugal's Algarve International Circuit.

Goodyear also recently secured the race tire supply deal for the KwikFit British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), replacing the Dunlop brand, which had been the BTCC's sponsor and tire supplier since 2003.