Nova re-releases 'the best rallycross tyre in history'

Recently established British company Nova Motorsport has unveiled the rallycross tire ACB11 at the French championship Rallycross France, which took place on August 31 in Lohéac. Earlier, Nova purchased from Goodyear the assets related to the Avon brand, and the novelty is manufactured at the company's new plant in Portugal using the same molds, tread pattern, and design as the original model, which was previously produced under the Avon and Cooper brands and was positioned as the "best rallycross tire in history".

Previously, rallycross competitors have achieved numerous victories in various championships on ACB11 tires, including 10 titles in the World RX and over 20 consecutive titles in the European Championship.

According to Nova, rallycross is one of the key elements of the company's strategy, which intends to produce specialized tires for key championships. "We are delighted to bring back the ACB11 tire, which will once again be available to drivers around the world," said James Wickley, Nova's Commercial Director. "Rallycross is one of the fastest, most exciting, and highly competitive forms of motorsport on the planet, with truly fierce competition, and that perfectly aligns with our philosophy. Of all motorsport disciplines, rallycross poses some of the toughest challenges for tire manufacturers. The combination of powerful cars, jumps, impacts, high curbs, and fierce battles creates significant demands on tires, and thanks to our extensive previous experience working with Avon Motorsport and Cooper Tires, the Nova Motorsport team has unparalleled expertise to participate in this sport".

To maintain the same level of production quality and tire characteristics, Nova has relocated around 200 trucks of equipment from the former Avon plant in Melksham (UK) to the new site in Portugal. The Palmela plant, formerly owned by Camac, has been modernized and now includes a new laboratory where tires identical to Avon products are created, as well as new tires for motorsport are developed.

"The new laboratory allows us to more effectively utilize the unique experience of our technical specialists in combination with the competencies in rubber compound manufacturing of our parent company SPC," noted Matthew Vincent, Nova's Senior Product Category Manager. "This means we can recreate with high accuracy the tires that were produced at the former Avon Motorsport plant in Melksham, and develop innovative compounds that will allow us to produce new tires in the future that can win in racing championships".

The company added that they will announce the launch of new products in the coming months, and the ACB11 tires will be available at the start of the 2025 season.