Slicks!

[Diabando]

Some times red tape can work in your favour....

Motorsport News 6-19/7

Michelin tyres boss Pierre Dupasquier said at Magny-Cours that his company and Bridgestone have written to the FIA asing for more precise regulations about the depths of the grooves on modern F1 tyres. Dupasquier said that unless the FIA made a ruling, the racing next year would take place on slicks because the tyre rules are so vague. Michelin has continued with its development program in recent weeks, with Jorg Muller having taken over from Tom Kristensen

[Valve Bounce]

This is very interesting. I didn't know the rules were so vague that slicks could be legal. Poor Max will have a heart attack if he knew.

[downforce]

er...didnt they mean "slicks" as in grooved tyres towards the end of the race??

[Sparky]

Yes, I read this somewhere. I think what Michelin are prepared to try, is the grooves (or the strips of rubber that surround the grooves!) will be applied very thinly over a regular slick tyre, and within a few laps, the tread disappears, and hey presto... Super grip!

Normal grooved tyres, when worn and slick looking, are not the same. This is down to compound and construction, which were optimized for grooved tyres after slicks were banned. Michelin's idea would see tyres revert to slick construction, inside and out, with token grooves applied for the sake of the rules.

I discussed this with Gerard some time ago, after a number of teams seemed to be fib=nishing races with not a groove in sight. The rules state that the tyre should be grooved at the atart of the race... and that's it. I seem to remember that there was a footnote about performance vs. groove depth, with disciplinary action at the discretion of the FIA.

So Michelin could try it, but would probably fall foul if they won a race with them.

One to watch, folks!

[Valve Bounce]

I can feel a huge bun fight coming from this if it is not straightened quickly. Teams losing on protest is not what we want to see next year.

[Jos]

Sorry Michelin, but I don't think this is allowed, because the tyres must have a groove of minimum two and a half millimetres after finishing a race, but slicks without grooves have also a (little) disadvantage; They are more sensitive for dirt and rocks than the slicks of nowadays.

[Sparky]

Welcome to Ten-Tenths Jos!

No disrespect intended, but where in the regs does it mention the tread depth required at the end of the race?
I only say this because I have trawled through them (some time ago) in order to clarify the groove issue, and could find no mention. Gerard came to the rescue that said something to the effect of

d) Each rear dry-weather tyre, when new, must incorporate 4 grooves which are:

- arranged symmetrically about the centre of the tyre tread ;

- at least 14mm wide at the contact surface and which taper uniformly to a minimum of 10mm at the lower surface ;

- at least 2.5mm deep across the whole lower surface ;

- 50mm (+/- 1.0mm) between centres.

The measurements referred to in c) and d) above will be taken when the tyre is fitted to a wheel and inflated to 20psi.

Notice it only says "when ... fitted"
I couldn't find anything about after the race.

Gerard?

[Jos]

D**n, you're right Sparky it's before the race starts. But I think the FIA will soon make more rules. So that Michelin has to develope "normal" tires.

[wodonnell]

I thought that the rules stated that the car must be withing the regulations AT ALL TIMES. It is down to the stewards of the meeting to decide whether the wear on the tyres is acceptable or not. See Brazil 2000 for a good example. Several cars were investigated following the race for having illegal "planks". The stewards accepted the protests that the additional wear was caused by the poor surface. Same applies to tyres as they are considered a part of the car.

[Gerard]

Welcome to 10 Tenths, Jos.

I've been digging through the FIA's regulations manual and there's not a single word that describes the state the tyres have to be in after the race.

I think Michelin is really considering this new idea, but in order to prevent troubles at the beginning of the 2001 season, they already let it slip through to the press, thus forcing the FIA to do something at this gap in the rules.