Goodyear has partnered with German record-breaker Rainer Zietlow in his second world record attempt to drive from Cape Agulhas, South Africa, to Nordkapp, Norway, in fewer than 10 days. He started the journey this past Friday, Sept. 11.
The team’s first attempt last fall resulted in a record time of 21 days and 10 hours. But after an unlucky accident, through no fault of their own, the team lost 13 days before they could pick up their attempt on the same, undamaged tires. This September, Rainer Zietlow, cameraman Marius Biela and Sam Roach, CEO of Volkswagen Racing UK, will once again attempt a new world record.
Zietlow, a multiple world-record holder in extreme continent-spanning journeys, departed from Cape Agulhas with his team on Sept. 11 bound for Nordkapp, more than 18,000 kilometers away. In order to cross three continents in a record-breaking time, Rainer Zietlow’s Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI has been fitted with Goodyear Wrangler HP All Weather tires for SUV and 4X4 vehicles. Featuring SmartTRED technology, the tires are designed to withstand the demanding range of extreme climates and road conditions en route, according to Goodyear.
The world record attempt is expected to take around 10 days to complete and will see Zietlow and his Challenge4 team passing through 19 countries, including: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and finally Norway. To reach the European continent, the team will fly from Amman, Jordan.
“Goodyear’s Wrangler HP All Weather tires are particularly well equipped to handle the same varied climate and surface challenges that the Cape-to-Cape challenge faced last year,” said Hans Vrijsen, marketing director EMEA at Goodyear. “The basic off-road capabilities combined with a comfortable ride is the ideal tire to navigate a 18,000 kilometer journey in under 10 days. With these tires, we feel confident that the team is prepared and ready to tackle the challenges ahead.”
“Last year, Goodyear provided us with a safe and reliable tire that performed very well. When I decided to make a second world record attempt, I immediately knew that I wanted to work with Goodyear again,” said Zietlow. “They have not only been great partners, but most importantly, the tires carried us across the finish line flawlessly. I have no doubt that it will provide the same support to us this year as we make another world record attempt.”
The car will carry a total of six tires, four fitted and two spare. Other partners of the Cape-to-Cape 2.0 challenge include Volkswagen Slovakia, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Glysantin, HBM, 3M, BORBET, IAV, Exide Technologies, Inmarsat and HELLA
To see more about this adventure, visit touareg-c2c2.com/home.
