Originally Posted by
Speed Sport Engineering
The committee is trying to do what is best for the class. The assumption that is being made by many is that by not giving in and blindly approving the spec tire, the committee is not acting in the best interest of the class.
As someone who has driven on the proposed spec tire, I can say there is a very high probability many will not like it. It will favor the more experienced and aggressive drivers, and those in the back will find themselves further behind. This proposed tire felt to me very similar to a slick on a cold damp track. It required an adjustment to driving style in order to see reasonable lap times. If someone is not comfortable with a sliding car, they will be way off the pace. Consider the spread in lap times during a rain session. This won't be as extreme, but the concept is the same. Expect a larger spread in lap times for all sessions with the spec tire. That comfort many had of a sticky tire will be gone. I believe part of the problem is the rubber is so hard it's difficult to build up enough temperature to make them work at all on our light cars. Be prepared to drive hard or be prepared to go slow.
What hasn't been tested yet, and what the committee is rightfully doing so, is doing a solid comparison between the spec tire with various sessions on it compared to a sticker spec tire. The worse thing that can happen right now is a spec tire is approved only to find out afterwards that a sticker set has a huge advantage. They want this information prior to giving a blessing.
I firmly believe as a class we are shooting ourselves in the foot with this. I understand on this forum this is not a popular opinion. But this forum is also not a full representation of the class. If we are trying to make the cars slower, less fun and more difficult to drive, and increase the spread in field lap times, we are going down the right path. Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I've been doing this long enough to know this is not the answer people are expecting.