Quote:
Originally Posted by chillibowl
surely though, had the tires lifted less water from the track, it still would have been too wet to race at Spa?
rather, by virtue of the tires displacing less water the track would have been even wetter?
sure visibility is a major concern but so to is a soaking wet track....not sure i entirely follow the criticism here.
damned if you do damned if you dont?
|
If you have a wider tyre (for the same downward force applied on them), there is a larger risk of aquaplaning. To reduce this the tire needs to displace more water, throwing it in the air and compromising visibility. So yes damned if you do, damned if you don't, but because of the wider tire.
If the tire had been narrower you would not have to displace so much water to prevent the standing water from being a a problem and visibility would increase also. Yes displacing more water could make the track try sooner (if there is a bit of wind so it doesn't just fall back on the track), but you first have to be able to run the cars for that to happen in the first place.
As said, wet races generally are considered the most exciting ones to watch, everything that could be done to improve the situation is valuable. It's not that going back to narrower tyres would be the magic bullet, it's not a black and white thing. However narrower tyre would improve the chances considerably to be able to race in the more difficult circumstances.