Maxxis Responds to 'Sensationalist' Coverage of Auto Express Test
Under: Maxxis News on
22 September 2010
Maxxis is keen to put the record straight following media
coverage of the recent tyre test by Auto Express magazine, which
used sensationalist language to brand budget tyres 'bottom of
safety league'.
"Let's be clear, Auto Express tested the MA-Z1 Drift, which is a
world beater in terms of what it is intended to do," says Maxxis
International UK's managing director Derek McMartin.
"As a product designed specifically for the sport of drifting it
has proved itself streets ahead of the competition by winning
Formula D, the premier US series, and all three European drift
series - the British Drift Championship, ProDrift and the European
Drift Championship - last season.
The MA-Z1 Drift is certainly street legal, but it is not a
general purpose high performance tyre, so is unlikely to achieve
the same results as the premium brands used in the variety of
road-based tests Auto Express carried out.
"We feel it is grossly unfair that some newspapers have
sensationalised their coverage by suggesting that drivers are
risking their lives if they buy budget tyres because not only is
this concept of a 'safety league' totally inaccurate - the Auto
Express test examined a number of different aspects, including
price, which is a major consideration for some people - but the
MA-Z1 Drift performed very well indeed in some areas.
"It did extremely well in the aquaplaning tests, for example,
winning the straight test, and was commended for being low
noise. The Maxxis results were not so far away from those of
the premium brands in several areas so reports that Maxxis was
'slammed' in the dry handling test for poor turning are
misleading. What the results show are that the MA-Z1 Drift
performed in accordance with its characteristics as a drift tyre
and yet it still scored 97.7%, finishing only just behind the top
runner in that test.
"Where Auto Express provided a thoroughly objective review, it
is disappointing that some areas of the media should seize the
opportunity to generalise the findings so that they can criticise
manufacturers who develop quality products which perform well and
offer excellent value".
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