Ahead of the 2022 Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship (ETRC) season, Goodyear, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and European Truck Racing Association (ETRA) are all focusing on driving sustainable racing actions with a circular economy retreading programme.
Sustainability Roadmap Key Part of FIA ETRC 2022
Manuel Vidal, FIA Truck Racing Commission President: “FIA’s approach is to have motorsport acting as a laboratory for sustainable mobility. In line with this, a couple of years ago, the FIA Truck Racing Commission developed a sustainability roadmap that is now being implemented. The first milestone, the introduction of 100% renewable HVO biodiesel to the FIA European Truck Racing Championship, was reached last year. Today, we are delighted to welcome Goodyear to join our journey. The extreme constraints of truck racing mean that tyres are one of the key aspects of this discipline and their relevance to the road haulage industry proves that motorsport can serve a greater purpose.”
These efforts are brought together by the FIA under three key pillars: climate action, technology and innovation, and sustainable practices. In 2021, the FIA became carbon neutral, by 2030, the FIA want to reach net zero.
Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship organiser ETRA has worked with its shareholder, the ADAC Mittelrhein and FIA to develop and implement plans to reduce its carbon footprint and promote green technologies. The sustainability strategic pillar is at the heart of the truck racing championship and all are committed to supporting meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Georg Fuchs, ETRA Managing Director: “In 2021, FIA ETRC became the first FIA-regulated championship to switch to 100 per cent sustainable fuel, which supports the championship’s goal to become a leading platform for sustainable technologies in the road haulage industry. Goodyear and ETRA have been closely working together for a long time in driving results for the teams. We look forward to further intensifying our efforts to contribute to the circular economy and the move towards sustainable transportation by extending the truck racing life beyond the races.”
Maciej Szymanski, Marketing Director Commercial Europe, Goodyear: “We’re excited to work with the FIA and ETRA in taking the Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship to the next level of sustainability this year. Therefore, we are now introducing Goodyear’s advanced retreading program within the Goodyear FIA ETRC. Testing in extreme racing conditions has contributed to the development of Goodyear’s advanced and robust carcass technology. Moving forward, we will further extend the service life of racing casings in hi-quality and select retreading programs for on-road applications. This is a good practice of Goodyear’s circular economic model without compromising on quality or performance. We look forward to increasingly linking our sustainability efforts in the championship to how we support commercial vehicle fleets across the region.
FIA ETRA an Excellent Fit for Goodyear’s Sustainability Goals
As a brand-new title sponsor and long-term exclusive tyre supplier, Goodyear will look to the FIA ETRC as a testing and innovation platform to continue paving the way for the commercial vehicle sector towards efficient circular economy practices and lowering emissions. Most recently, the FUELMAX ENDURANCE range scored a EU tyre B label.
During demanding racing conditions, heat-generation and deformation are critical parameters. Equally in on road applications, lowering the heat generation in the tyre is key to increasing fuel efficiency and decreasing emissions. While limiting deformation will further contribute to extending the tyre service life with the learnings incorporated into Goodyear’s innovative carcass technology.
Goodyear Truck Racing tyres are produced by using renewable electricity sources like hydro, wind, solar or geothermic biomass power. On a wider scale, Goodyear has adopted several company-wide initiatives both globally and specific to the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region. Its overriding target is to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
On the product side, Goodyear aims to develop a 100 per cent sustainable material tyre by 2030 and has already released a demonstration model using 70 per cent sustainable material.
As the official tyre supplier and title sponsor of the European truck racing series, Goodyear has an important role to play in supporting the championship’s extensive efforts to improve even further on the championship’s environmental credentials. The new Goodyear FIA ETRC will continue to be an important proving ground for taking the lead in the development of sustainable on road mobility solutions.
