LAWTON — A European driver who will make his fourth ’round-the-world trip in an electric vehicle will be traveling on a set of tires manufactured in Lawton and purchased by a young Lawtonian who said his interest was piqued, in part, by a course he took at Cameron University.
Richard Routon bought the four tires that Rafael de Mestre will be riding on during “80eDays,” the world’s first zero emissions rally in electric cars. De Mestre’s epic journey is set to begin next May in Barcelona, where he will prepare to cross 36 countries in 80 days.
De Mestre is a famous IT consultant and electric car pioneer and will again be driving a Tesla EV.
Routon said he learned of “Around the World in 80 edays” in an article he read online.
Meanwhile, he was enrolled last fall in a CU class entitled “Economic Geography” taught by Professor Edris J. Montalvo Jr.
Dr. Montalvo was quoted in the school’s newspaper, The Collegian, as saying that “any good business looks for opportunities to increase their profits and market share. I think what Richard found is a good demonstration of that,” Montalvo said. “Goodyear is growing with the growing EV market.”
“During a discussion in my economic class, I started getting concerned that it might not make economic since to have the Goodyear plant here in Lawton and I started to come up with solutions to keep it here,” Routon said. “Such as, what if they started making electric vehicle tires here? And lo and behold that’s actually what they’ve been doing as of December 2021.”
Routon told the school paper that one reason why he wanted to sponsor de Mestre, the first person to drive around the world in an EV, was because he considers himself to be an environmentalist and has a strong interest in electric vehicles. “I want to work for an electric car company after I graduate,” he said.
Earlier this year de Mestre launched a promotional trip while in Florida in the same Tesla EV Roadster he drove 11 years ago. The story of “80edays” began in 2012; De Mestre drove around the world in a production all-electric Tesla Roadster, completing the feat in 127 days. “80eDays” will be his fourth trek around the globe.
Routon initiated a conversation with de Mestre on Aug. 7, asking whether he “ever considered using Goodyear’s ElectricDrive and/or ElectricDrive GT tires” on his Tesla 2011 Roadster 2.5. Routon said his interest was drawn to the upcoming race because electric cars “have a lot of technology in them.”
The 22-year-old is a Cameron senior who expects to graduate next May with a bachelor’s degree in information technology, and also has an associate in applied science degree in IT.
De Mestre was receptive to Routon’s idea, and a week later the Lawtonian purchased four tires, warrantied for 65,000 miles, from a Goodyear dealership on Cache Road. “My family has been going to that store for 10 years,” he said.
Routon spent $1,049.26 from his own pocket. That included $701.82 for the four tires and $347.44 to have them mounted on de Mestre’s Roadster at a Tesla center in Seattle, Washington, following its cross-country trek from Florida. “I wanted to support the Goodyear tire manufacturing plant here, do my part to see that it remains here for another 40 years.”
After his story was published in Southwest Ledger, Routon was contacted by Cindy Watkins, the communications manager at Goodyear’s Lawton manufacturing plant.
He was invited to tour the facility on Sept. 22. “I got to see where they manufacture the ElectricDrive electric vehicle (EV) tires!” he wrote on his Facebook page. In addition, he received a certificate for a free set of new tires for his own car.
Routon said he plans to buy four Goodyear tires that contain up to 70% sustainable material. He’ll have to wait awhile for those, but said he’s hopeful they’ll be in stock “by the end of this year.”
Routon has been an Oklahoman for 18 years. He was born in Debre Markos, a city in Ethiopia, but was adopted at age 4 by Patricia Routon of Lawton, a retiree who was a schoolteacher for almost 50 years. He attended Woodland Hills Elementary School and Eisenhower Middle School, and was graduated from Eisenhower High School in 2019.
Routon is one of six children of a single parent; he has one younger brother and four older sisters. He works in the Eugene D. McMahon Library at Cameron.