JOANNE DE FREITAS ON WHY MOTORSPORT IS IDEAL FOR BRAND EXPOSURE
The quest to grow market awareness for the premium range, Dunlop SP SPORT MAXX 060+ led to an unexpected and extraordinary success story, with the local tyre maker securing no less than twenty-four respective South African motor sport series. Joanne de Freitas, Marketing Manager, speaks to SA TREADS, in an exclusive interview.
Talk us through the evolution of Dunlop’s journey in local motorsport. When did you assume responsibility for this sub-division?
I assumed the motorsport role in May 2021, however, I have been with Dunlop Tyres for twenty years, 1st July this year. The task was a little daunting at first, as I had sparse knowledge of the sport and what it entails, but I made the decision to build my network, in order to learn and glean better understanding. Dunlop is iconic for its global motorsport heritage, however, in South Africa at the time, Dunlop was only actively involved in one motorsport event as the title tyre sponsor – the VW Polo Cup Series – which we had been sponsoring since 2018.
There were no immediate plans to expand our presence in motorsport, but as time went on, and once important connections were made, I recognised key opportunities to showcase the Dunlop brand along the way, especially for our premium range of tyres, the SP SPORT MAXX 060+. Initially, the progression into other motorsport series was a little slow, until many of the drivers on opposition brands, began requesting for their cars to be shod with Dunlop, due to the brand’s performance on both on-and-off-road surfaces. From there, the growth was exponential, catapulting us into the motorsport arena as serious contenders.
Which Series are you now sponsoring nationwide?
We are now actively involved in: Passion for Speed (Zwartkops) – select vehicles, Simola Hillclimb (Knysna) – select vehicles, National Extreme Festival (venues in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and East London); Regional Extreme Festival (venues in Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Delmas); SAES (South African Endurance Series) (venues in Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Pretoria, Delmas and Johannesburg); Lemons (venues in Cape Town and Delmas); South African Rally Championship (venues in Free State, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Gauteng/MPU and Mpumalanga); Hot Rod (Richards Bay, KZN) and Mokopane (Polokwane, Brakpan, Pretoria and Vereeniging).
In addition, in 2025, Dunlop is prominent in the following notable events: National Rally Championship South Africa (NRCSA); BMW/M Performance Part Race Series (Gauteng); V8 Supercars; DOE Formula Vee; National V8 Roadster Championship (Backdraft); South African Endurance Series; SUPER VEE SA; Lotus Challenge; Formula SuperCars (Cape Town); GTI Challenge (Cape Town); BMW/M Performance Part Race Series (Cape Town); 2.1 Modifieds (Oval Track); SA National (Oval Track); ILamuna Endurance Series; Investchem MSA4 (Ex Formula Ford); Extreme Supercars Driven by Dunlop; South African Touring Cars (SATC); South African Touring Cars – SupaCup (SATC SupaCup); Toyota GR Yaris (GR CUP – Journalists); Toyota GR 86 (GR CUP – Rookies); Toyota GR Corolla (GR CUP – Dealers); Astron Energy VW Polo Cup and VW Rookie Cup.
As you can see, there are numerous events for motorsport enthusiasts to attend during the course of the year (some have already concluded), across the country and the best part is that these events are all family-friendly, and are becoming increasingly popular with female audiences, as well as with children.
Are these motorsport events generally well attended?
The appeal of these motorsport occasions is growing, and I believe members of the public who have not attended in the past, should give them a try. A great family day of fun, with fun activities for the children, as well as the opportunity to meet the drivers and take a stroll through the pits.
Getting to know the drivers on a personal level has been a highlight for me, as they have much to share about their love and passion for the sport, their journey in getting to where they are, the cars, and of course, the tyres, which are an integral part of the proceedings.
Which of these series generated interest to showcase the Dunlop SP SPORT MAXX 060+?
The Sportmaxx 060+ tyres are used for the Lemons Endurance events. These races are between nine and twenty-four hours long, and the Sportmaxx 060+ perform beautifully and last the duration of the race, with ease.
Many of our other series race on our Dunlop Direzza tyres, which come in slicks and semi-slicks and are manufactured in our factory in Japan. One of our CEO’s major requests (whenever we embark on any PR for the 060+), is to highlight: If this is tyre is ‘good enough’ to race around the track at high speeds, for multiple laps it is certainly ‘good enough’ for your family to drive
What do you believe makes this tyre such a great contender?
Not only is the Dunlop SP SPORT MAXX060+ the flagship tyre for premium cars, CUVs and SUVs, it offers exceptional high-speed stability, excellent dry and wet performance, ride comfort and long life. In addition, the new pattern design features water evacuation grooves to reduce hydroplaning and provide stability and control in wet road conditions, while the high stiffness shoulder blocks make for optimum road contact, provide high braking force and cornering grip in dry road conditions. Thanks to the new pattern and new compound, MAXX060+ achieved EU Label wet grip “A” grade for all sizes.
How did you go about bringing yourself up to speed with the intricacies and technical complexities surrounding these events?
I always like to refer to my personal tagline – ‘The ignition is always on’, as I never stop. Suffice to say, initially, I was hardly home. I made a point of attending each and every motorsport series, irrespective of location. There is no other way to come to grips with motorsport and all that it is involved. The effort paid off. It would be remiss of me to not give credit to the ATS Motorsport Team who were by my side at every event I attended.
ATS are the official Dunlop Motorsport Agents in South Africa and their team attend every one of the abovementioned events, countrywide. At each event, the ATS team is responsible for fitting and changing tyres for all the vehicles in all the series that are sponsored by Dunlop Tyres. At their peak, the team of three fitters have changed over 500 tyres in one day! It is a massive task, week after week, but this team is extremely knowledgeable, efficient and offer great customer service to all the series members.
