Control Tyre Contract

[anthony81901]

I am fairly sure that this is the final year of Dunlop's contract as the control tyre supplier. Has anybody heard anything on the tendering for the next contract?

[Mattracer]

Wouldn't Yokohama be up for a go? The other two from the previous tyre war era have had a go.

[GROUPA]

Given Yokohama will be OEM on HSV come September I am tipping they will be

[Peregrine]

I agree. The clearly biased powers that be will have to get rid of that one pesky Ford that keeps Holden off the top step of the rostrum. What better way to do it than use the tyre manufacturer that is in bed with Holden (a la Bridgestone control tyre era).

[eduardo1]

hehe,

Clearly biased, I guess that's why they currently have a control tyre supplier who has a long association with Ford.

But seriously, to say that because a tyre company has an OEM agreement with a manufacturer gives the race teams an advantage is a bit silly.

I suppose you believe that the Helix at the petrol station is the same as they use in the Ferrari F1 cars.

Look at the facts.

a) Tyre evaluation is done with an equal representation of Ford and Holden teams, doing strictly supervised runs.

b) All teams are given equal number of test days, and equal sets of tyres per car.

The tyre contract is given to the company that promises to support the series with the greatest expenditure of advertising (esp on Ch10 - notice all the Dunlop ads compared to the 'Bridgestone era'), promotion and marketing to accompany supplying a tyre, plus the end cost to the teams of the tyre itself.

[GROUPA]

I never said that Holden will have a unfair advantage if the control tyre goes the way of Yokohama.

Unless V8 Supercars start running on radial tyres.

Eduardo1...your points are all true & correct and I stand by them

[Lowndesfan6]

There was something on RPM a few weeks ago saying that Dunlop was up at the end of the year.

They mentioned Michelin was going to tender, along with Bridgestone and Dunlop......not sure of any others.

I guess they'll have to announce a decision soon. If Dunlop don't retain the contract they'll need to use the tyres somehow......selling them cheap etc just like Bridgestone at the end of 01 had to do.

[Peregrine]

My point is that Ford (or even Larry who has a long Dunlop association) have not had an advantage in the Dunlop era unlike HRT who had a clear advantage in the Bridgestone days. Fact !

[eduardo1]

I know you didn't GROUPA. Your point about Yokohama's interest is very valid. The probably will tender.

Peregrine, any advantage HRT (and other Bridgestone) runners may have had in the early Bridgestone days was almost entirely due to their bank of knowledge from several years of racing on them.

I daresay that HRT's biggest advantage in those days was the fact their budget was around half again that of their nearest competitor.

But based on your theory, how do you account for HRT's championship and Bathurst glory in the first year of Dunlop's term?

[Peregrine]

By using the point you just made. All teams were "new" to the Dunlop control rubber, so he with the biggest budget for testing wins....

You cannot tell me that Yokohama would not seek some input from the teams with which it has an association in designing the tyre for tender ? e.g. softer sidewalls, harder compounds etc.

It would be silly of them not to try and gain an advantage for the teams with which it is associated and leverage off any success. You see a lot more CPR and Lowndes in the Dunlop ads than anyone else.....

[eduardo1]

Sorry Peregrine, but the test days were restricted by the time Dunlop became supplier, as was tyre supply for teams. Same amount of days, same amount of tyres per car.

As for 'input', they would definitely speak to the teams in order to design the most suitable tyre for the series. But that doesn't translate to an advantage for the teams themselves, unless they had
a) a testing simulation rig (which none do)
b) the compound and structure of the proposed tyre to feed into that rig.

Without the ability to test the particular tyre, there is no advantage to be gained.

BTW, John Bowe has been on a Dunlop personal contract for around 10 years, perhaps longer, going well back to his time at DJR.

Also, what success is there to leverage? It doesn't matter which car wins, they're all on the same tyre!

The face of Bridgestone has been Peter Brock for many years, long after he was involved with HRT. Lowndes is a recognisable name in the mainstream, but his only real success came aboard a Bridgestone-shod Holden.

Not trying to cut you down here, but you're either a Ford man or an anti-HRT man, and your arguments just aren't holding water.

[TBA]

Looking good for Dunlop to return! There are just a few odds and ends to clear up ,and it should be finalised.

[Peregrine]

You forgot to mention that testing included using a V8 supercar registered as a sports sedan hence not restricted for testing purposes eduardo....

[Mattracer]

Maybe I've got this wrong but the car in question uses old Bridgestones which are no longer relevant??

[Lowndesfan6]

Pity they can illegally test other parts hey!!!

[GTRMagic]

Michelin is interested in tendering also apparently, if the TEGA technical gumbies agree to switch to an 18" wheel, as used in sportscars/ALMS in the US & Europe.

This is made significantly easier by the new control wheel (an idea I brought up a couple of years ago, and Larko is calling all-new ) which can be any size the teams want if its a mandated control item

I dont quite understand how if Larko's boys replace a dozen wheels a year, how it will be cheaper to buy 60 brand new ones, but then maths and motorsport have never really belonged together

[StuiE]

I like the sound of an 18" wheel, what they are using now look too small for such a big car. I like the sound of 2 or more tyre manufacturers too Sure some tracks woul be suited to certain tyres, that IMO is what would make it good, and different tyres might be better in differnt parts of the track, making for passing/better racing.

Come to think of it, less or control parts would make even better racing, but that would be too smart wouldn't it

[eduardo1]

Which car is that Peregrine?

I know of one VS Commodore in NSW Sports Sedans that began life as a VR SuperCar shell.

But I also know that car has no involvement in testing with, or parts for, any SuperCar team.

[Peregrine]

Not any more, anyway.

[eduardo1]

Peregrine, if you've got something to say, maybe you might want to say it.

PM me if you like.

[scalpa]

hi groupa im lookin at gettin a hsv clubsport do you know what yokohamas will be on it? and how do they compare to the bridgestones? will they be optional or standard the salesman at my holden dealer doesnt seem to know about it at all.

[Joe5619]

What size wheel do they use now????

[Onlooker]

Originally posted by Peregrine
My point is that Ford (or even Larry who has a long Dunlop association) have not had an advantage in the Dunlop era unlike HRT who had a clear advantage in the Bridgestone days. Fact !

I seem to recall HRT comming out and spanking a few bare bottoms race one on the new control Dunlops despite Larry and Dick having a very clear advantage,not to mention the priveteers that had oodles of Dunlop stories from days gone by,maybe just maybe and this is going to sound weird but the guys at HRT were actually quite on the ball and were able to tune the car to the Dunlop better than the others. Hey if Yokkie come back maybe Skaife will draw an all his experience with Yokkies and have the car with the inside wheel 2ft in the air and diaginally opposite side of the rear bumper dragging on the ground,2 seconds off the pace, ala Saturn Racer.

[GTRMagic]

The funnier thing I heard was that a certain series promoter has gee'd up his Korean tyre maker supplier so much that they think they are also in with a shout to provide a control tyre....

[Mattracer]

A lot of the time, Skaife was is P1 while the diagonally opposite inside wheel was 2ft in the air while the rear bumper was dragging on the ground.