Goodyear quits championship

The tyre giant announced today that it would not be returning to the Champ Car series or the rival Indy Racing League.

According to a Goodyear spokesman, another reason for the withdrawal was the ongoing split between CART and IRL.

Goodyear's general manager for global race tyres, Stu Grant, said, 'The company has enjoyed a long and successful history in motorsports competition around the world.

'Our longstanding commitment to racing has made this an agonising decision.

'However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify the significant capital and resources the company devotes to CART and IRL.

'Our decision is based, in part, an open-wheel racing's present state of affairs in North America and the ongoing split between CART and IRL.

'Like many suppliers we are certainly disappointed that no reconciliation between the two groups is in sight and therefore believe it is in the best interests of our shareholders, customers and the racing division to take a sabbatical from the CART and IRL series.'

Goodyear, who withdrew from Formula One in 1998, will continue to supply tyres to the NASCAR championships and other American series.

However, the company refused to rule out a return to CART, IRL or Formula One in the future.

'We cannot rule out Goodyear's future participation in North American open-wheel racing, particularly if CART and IRL reconcile, nor will we rule out a return to F1 competition,' added Grant.