SUPERCARS is set to trial new Dunlop tyres which could be introduced to the championship next season.
V8 Sleuth has learnt an upcoming test will be conducted to put the revamped rubber through its paces.
Exact details as to when and where the testing will take place are not yet known, but it’s believed the change relates to tyre compound and not construction.
The current tyre range has often been a target for criticism, including being prone to overheating when in close proximity to a car ahead.
It’s understood there has been a push to develop a racier medium-type compound, offering grip but in a much more durable manner.
That’s intended to ensure that drivers can push throughout an entire stint as opposed to being cornered into tyre conservation mode – a facet which reared its head in an undesirable way at the 2023 Great Race.
Besides the creation of a grippier wet tyre, the existing dry tyre range was designed around the heavier and higher-downforce Gen2 cars. When the Gen3 era began, Supercars responded with a general shift towards the softer compound options already available.
Should testing go well, there’s every chance the new trial tyre gets the green light for 2025 competition.
The fact Supercars is working with Dunlop on a new-generation product also indicates that an extension could be on the cards between the two companies.
Dunlop’s most recent extension as Supercars’ tyre partner was announced in 2019, with a five-year contract through until the end of 2024.
