Avon Tyres completes The Classic with clean sweep of victories

MELKSHAM, UK, September 1st, 2022 - Avon Tyres has completed a successful Silverstone Classic weekend, with a strong presence in the Formula 1 and sports car classes and victories in every category it served. The tyre brand brought more than 50 different specifications of tyres to The Classic, reflective of the depth and breadth of cars running on Avon tyres over the weekend.

Avon Tyres designs, manufactures and provides maintenance services for racing cars ranging from pre-war to modern single-seaters. It is one of few brands that still offer ‘Appendix K’ specifications of tyres, the FIA-homologated category for vintage racing. This ensures classic car owners can get an authentic racing experience that is true to their machine’s original handling, while also lowering costs associated with upgrading other components to comply with fitting a different specification of tyres.

Inspiring confidence and predictability

Many classic car tyres use the traditional cross-ply carcass construction. This structure, combined with a compound that heats up quickly, gives the tyres a characteristic that inspires confidence and predictability. Demonstrations from Ignition GP 90s F1 and 40th Anniversary of Group C all used a mixture of cross-ply and radial construction Avon tyres. To achieve the desired number of specifications, Avon uses a combination of traditional and modern methods of production to create tyres that feel, look and perform authentically.

At the circuit, a team of engineers are on hand to support the teams with setup to ensure drivers can extract the most out of their cars. Avon works with specialist tyre dealer BMTR to provide many of its services at the event. A wealth of data is also collected about track conditions and tyre health to offer further advice. In the fitting area, tyres are prepared for racing trackside and fitters can take a tyre from the trailer to being race-ready in under five minutes.

The weekend brought success for Avon Tyres in four categories. In the Frank Williams Memorial Trophy For Masters Racing Legends, all 21 cars competed on the Silverstone GP Circuit on Avon Tyres. The race featured a variety of Formula 1 cars from the 1970s and 1980s including iconic models from McLaren, Lotus, Arrows and Williams. Both races were won by Mike Cantillon in a Williams FW07C.

In addition to Formula 1 cars, more than 50 sports cars ran on Avon tyres in the Trophy for Masters Sports Car Legends and HSCC Thundersports. On Saturday, the Masters Sports Car Legends race was won by Tom Bradshaw at the wheel of a Chevron B1. Avon’s success continued on Sunday in the HSCC Thundersports class, with John Burton claiming victory in their Chevron B26 from 1974.

James Weekley, General Manager, Motorsport, Avon Tyres Europe, explains the importance of classic racing for Avon Tyres: “The level of attention to detail to make the tyres as authentic to their period is something we are particularly proud of. We’re thrilled by the level of interest in classic racing and it is always a pleasure to see cars with such history revived and raced with such pride.

“We have more than 150 people at the Melksham factory who manufacture tyres using a mixture of traditional and modern methods. Most of our classic tyre range utilises cross-ply carcass structures, and we are proud to keep these techniques alive to serve the classic racing market.”

Paul Nicholls, Motorsport Manager, BMTR, explains Avon Tyres' logistical setup: “We handle a huge number of tyre specifications and manage the products’ journey from the factory to being fitted to the cars. This includes manually grooving tyres onsite where required. At the circuit, our team of tyre fitters are on hand to balance and service tyres throughout the weekend.”