Rubber Soul

Tyres are the only contact point between a Supercar and the circuit, so they are a vitally important ingredient to success. Dunlop has been the driving force of tyres in Supercars since 2002. Operations manager Kevin Fitzsimons explains the effort and philosophies behind the rubber.

- Andrew Clarke

The presence of Dunlop at Supercars races is such a visible and enduring feature that it’s hard to imagine any other tyre maker getting into the supply chain. A number have bid to unseat Dunlop at the three renewals of the control tyre supplier, but it remains firmly yellow and black.

Kevin Fitzsimons is the ringmaster of rubber, the man who has looked after Supercars for Dunlop’s entire time as the category tyre supplier and before that at Bridgestone. He understands the tyres but more so the marketing impacts for Dunlop that go well beyond anything learned in this class.

Supercars ended the tyre war in 1999 with Bridgestone the supplier until the end of 2001, when Dunlop took over. Fitzsimons didn’t take long to move with the deal and is approaching his 500th round in succession.

“I had the opportunity to do something else when the Bridgestone deal finished in 2001, but I really didn’t have any plans,” he says.

“I left there on Friday the 21st of December and I got a phone call on Christmas Eve to say, ‘What are you doing?’ That was 8am and I was in Adelaide. I was in Melbourne by midday and had the job offer sitting on the table for me not too much later.

“It’s been a very important marketing exercise for Dunlop. It’s a prestigious category to have the tyre for, it’s watched all around the world and it’s one of the longest running and high-profile contracts that Dunlop has, so I’m proud to be a part of it.

“Because of my Bridgestone time we hit the ground running with all the bells, whistles and everything like that in 2002. It was a big deal from the company point of view.”