Dunlop delivers unique salute to Birmingham landmark

THE 40th anniversary of one of Birmingham’s most famous landmarks has been celebrated by city-based tyre manufacturer Dunlop Motorsport.

The Fort Dunlop business commemorated 40 years of Spaghetti Junction with a special 10-truck salute (below).

Dunlop estimates that it has shipped around 10m tyres across Britain’s most famous motorway junction since it was built in May 1972.
 
Birmingham’s Spaghetti Junction is at the northernmost point of Britain’s Motorsport Valley, a corridor which stretches along the line of the M40 motorway from Oxfordshire in the south, and is home to many of the UK’s motorsport engineering companies and racing teams.
 
The 10-truck convoy converged simultaneously on many of the different intertwined roads of the junction for a spectacular aerial photograph. The trucks then paraded through the city on the old Birmingham Superprix circuit – the city’s ill-fated attempt to introduce Monaco-style street racing.

James Bailey, Director of Marketing and Communications for Dunlop Motorsport Europe said: “We are very proud of our long association with Birmingham and that we not only design, develop and manufacture tyres here, but also provide many of the support teams for race championships across Europe and the world.
 
“As well as celebrating 40 years of being neighbours with the iconic Spaghetti Junction we also wanted to acknowledge the anniversary of motor racing on the streets of Birmingham. Although racing didn’t happen on Birmingham’s Superprix Circuit until the 1980s, permission for it to happen was first given 40 years ago, so it is appropriate to reflect on the city’s racing heritage.
 
“The Superprix was a great showcase for Birmingham and with around forty thousand people employed in the UK motorsport industry, maybe the time is right to highlight this contribution to the local and national economy with a return of racing to Birmingham’s streets.”