Photo: Goodyear

Goodyear to launch new qualifying award

By

Goodyear has announced that it will celebrate its return to touring car racing this season with a new qualifying award for drivers competing in the BTCC.

The ‘Wingfoot Award’ will be determined by how a driver performs in qualifying over the course of the season, with points being awarded to the top 15 drivers after each of the nine qualifying sessions this year.

The person qualifying on pole will therefore secure 20 points, with 17 points for second all the way to a single point for the driver qualifying in 15th.

“We are excited to launch the Wingfoot Award in the British Touring Car Championship as a celebration of top-class racing and as a sign of Goodyear’s return to motorsport in Europe,” Andy Marfleet, marketing director for Goodyear UK&I, said “We recognise qualifying as an important part of the race weekend, and the new Wingfoot Award aims to reward drivers who perform highest in that qualifying session, not just on race results.”

Previous tyre supplier Dunlop ran the ‘Forever Forward’ award, which was determined by how many places a driver had made up over the course of the season.