Nova Motorsport rolls out Camac-branded tires at refurbished Portuguese plant

Santo Tirso, Portugal – Nova Motorsport has progressed its previously announced €20-million upgrade programme at the Camac tire manufacturing plant which it acquired earlier in April.

The factory in Palmeira now manufactures the small-rim-sized Camac Classic tire range for the European market, which can help keep iconic models such as the Austin Mini and the Honda N300, N400 and N600 stay on the road.

Furthermore, with the completion of the upgrade the factory will support over 100 skilled jobs across various business disciplines, including engineering, technical and marketing, the company said 20 Nov.

Nova Motorsport was founded in the UK earlier this year and acquired assets, including the brand license, for the manufacture and sale of racing tires under the names “Avon Motorsport” and “Avon Racing” from Goodyear. (ERJ report)

In April, it purchased the Camac factory, with a nameplate capacity to produce over 500,000 tires per year, and is refurbishing the plant to produce motorsport tires as well as Camac tires. (ERJ report)

It has since rolled out a number of products previously made by Avon, including the ACB11 rallycross tires which were unveiled in September at the French Rallycross Championship, where the brand served as the title sponsor.

Nova Motorsport said it had “recreated” the compounds and materials previously mixed by Avon Tyres in Melksham, UK, using “state-of-the-art mixing facilities.”

“The brand adheres to the same stringent testing procedures and specifically designed lab test methods and uses the same technology, procedures, moulds, and materials originally deployed in the UK,” it added.

In addition to supporting existing customers and markets, the brand is well positioned to collaborate with companies seeking tires for competition and specialist applications, said commercial director James Weekley.

Our goal, he said, is to provide "unparalleled levels of ultra-rapid R&D, time-to-market, and customer support.”