Muscling their way round street circuits, parkland tracks and permanent raceways almost all year round, V8 Supercars are simply the main event in Australia.

Established over the years as a titanic battle between Australia’s major manufacturers, Ford and Holden, the V8s attract huge and highly partisan crowds of up to 250,000.

The season lasts from March to December, plus a non-championship race in support of the Australian F1 GP at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit. But the highlight of the year is the Bathurst 1000, a 1000-km race round the spectacular Mount Panorama circuit that Australian fans regard as the event of the year. The bellowing supercars also visit Abu Dhabi, New Zealand and are set to visit the US in 2013.

Dunlop has been the exclusive tyre supplier to the V8s since 2002, with the current deal in place until at least 2017. In 2012 it becomes naming rights sponsor of the V8 Supercars Development Series which will now be known as the ‘Dunlop Series’.