Karl Heinz Tibor: Tire carver from the Rhine / DRM

When it comes to choosing the right racing tires, tire wizard Karl Heinz Tibor has been asked for advice enough times over the past 50 years. 54 years ago, a trained freighter and hobby racing driver (collectives and circuits with Ford, BMW, Porsche) founded the company “Goodyear Motorsport Deutschland” in the Cologne suburb of Pulheim.

Separated from the parent company in the United States, but as a dealer representative in this country, the Rhineland native started his own racing service based on his own ideas and served major racing teams such as Loos, Kremer, Joest, Ford, Zakspeed and BMW during of competition. era of motor racing championship (DRM). He made a name for himself mainly through his personal versions of wet tires.

One of his greatest achievements also comes from this era. When rival Porsche racing teams Loos and Kremer battled for the title at the Ring in the DRM final in 1977, Tibor provided the advantage that made Loos driver Rolf Stommelen the champion.

When it rained heavily on race day, Tibor decided to create his own resume. “I put hand-carved rain tires on the Rolf, and I still have the tread protection on the tread today.”

A set of tires “Made by Tibor” gave title rival Bob Wollek a chance on the wet track, and Stommelen pulled away.

Even when heavy rain fell on the airport race at Mainz Finthen in 1970, Tibor’s best time had come again. With a wet profile he had carved out shortly before the start, mainly on the tarmac of the airport, he helped his Cologne friends Richard Thiel and Herbert Elsner to an unexpected and highly visible double victory in their Kaimann Formula V racing cars .By the way, the person who suffered was the writer of these lines, who had placed a bet on the Continent.

No wonder Tibor enjoyed and still enjoys the best reputation in the industry. For many, he was and is considered a type of “tire doctor” who is able to solve complex cases in an uncomplicated way using a kind of personal diagnosis.

Whether it was winning Le Mans with the long-running Porsche 962, the Joest Porsche 936 or winning the BPR championship (McLaren GTR with Bscher/Nielsen) – the Goodyear man had the right ballpark ready for every mission. And if not, then something was quickly assembled or carved by hand.

What impressed him the most at Le Mans in 1997 was “that Tom Kristensen in a Porsche 936 managed to do six laps on one set of tires and also set the fastest lap on worn tires.”

All these are experiences that the tire doctor now lacks. He laments that many things are the same when it comes to racing tires today. “Unfortunately, your own opinion falls by the wayside when the manufacturer, tread patterns and sometimes even tire pressure are already specified in the regulations.”

And then he adds: “Sometimes I look back with pain to the 70s or 80s, when we were tired of people being able to quickly create something special for our customers. I miss that today.”

In addition, things have been very quiet for him in Cologne when it comes to sports. There is no longer the old feud between Loos and Kremer, no racing departments of Ford and Renault, and the city’s previous media scene is also more reserved when it comes to racing. Only Toyota, as a global player, still dominates the race headlines from Cologne.

Tibor’s company “Goodyear Motorsport Deutschland” still exists for all customer needs with eight employees. This also includes the Dunlop racing service, which has long been associated with Goodyear.

However, Dunlop’s customer priorities have shifted to historic motorsport over the years. What Tibor doesn’t like: “Here we can at least play around a little more creatively.”

In addition, the boss himself is a big fan of the classic and often visits this “fortunately still not too controlled by the motorsport genre” in private.

Although Tibor is almost 80 years old, he spends up to eight hours at work every day. Despite a busy daily and weekly schedule, he still rides his racing bike as often as he can, enjoys sailing and is available at DSV as a certified instructor for winter guided ski tours.

Do you long for the future? “I would like to face again a big challenge in the tire industry that would require my creativity.”

Unfortunately, the Cologne tire carver quickly ended his racing career in the 1970s after throwing a Porsche 907 from the 1000 km race at Monza: “I just wanted to be faster than Jacky Ickx once…”