SUPERCARS general manager of motorsport Tim Edwards is encouraged by the early signs being displayed by Dunlop’s newest tyre.
The category is conducting a tyre test today at Queensland Raceway, utilising the #17 Dick Johnson Racing Mustang and #10 Matt Stone Racing Camaro.
The trial tyre, along with the existing hard, soft and super soft compounds, have been put through short and long runs to evaluate and compare different characteristics.
“One of the goals from today is to understand, well what is the best race tyre that we can have for the category?” Edwards explained.
“We know what we have got at the moment with the three different compounds. Now what Dunlop have proposed is something which potentially the drivers can push harder for longer, so therefore making it a better race tyre.
“You often hear the drivers talking about how they’re having to nurse the tyre, or when they’re close to the car in front, it starts to overheat. Well, if we can have a tyre that doesn’t overheat as much when they’re right up behind the car in front, then that’s a better race tyre.
“We’re looking through that and we’ll learn a lot out of today’s test and then we’ll revisit all of the information with Dunlop.
“We have also got some tyre surface monitoring on the cars as well, so understand actually what is going on with the surface of the tyre.
“So we’ll gather all of that information after all this test, sit down with Dunlop and decide what we think is the best path forward for next year.”
Edwards did however express optimism relating to the test tyre, which is being evaluated for a possible 2025 introduction.
“We need the drivers to be able to push as hard as they can when the time is right, when they want to overtake somebody. So we need a tyre that withstands that pressure that the drivers put on them,” he continued.
“This is all about improving the show. Dunlop have come to the party with a tyre that they think is going to really help us with that, so we’ll evaluate it with them.
“But certainly from what we’re led to believe about the tyre and also what we’ve unearthed already in today’s testing, it looks like it could be really exciting for the category moving forward, this tyre.”
