Explained: Why minimum tyre pressure has been lowered
Supercars
14 May
Drivers racing harder for longer behind rule change
Minimum tyre pressure reduced for upcoming rounds
New rule to be used at upcoming Perth event
Ensuring drivers race harder for longer is behind the mandate to reduce minimum tyre pressure at upcoming Supercars events.
The minimum tyre pressure has been lowered from 17psi to 15psi for the next three events in Perth, Darwin and Townsville.
The change was confirmed in the Perth Further Supplementary Regulations and Darwin Supplementary Regulations, both released on Thursday.
The Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint will be held on Dunlop’s Soft tyre compound, while the betr Darwin Triple Crown will be the first in 2024 to use the Super Soft compound.
Lower pressure changes the shape of the tyre, meaning there will be more tyre contacting the road, allowing better drive for longer.
“We want the drivers to race harder for longer,” Supercars General Manager of Motorsport Tim Edwards told Supercars.com.
“We didn’t want to go back to when teams were running crazy low pressures around decade ago.
“Now that we understand these cars, the durability of the car, and we’re running a lighter car, the question was asked — could we drop the tyre pressures again?”
The change was kicked into gear by the Gen3 Technical Working Group, following previous Supercars Commission meetings.
The season began on the Hard tyre in Bathurst, while Albert Park — a traditionally high-load circuit — was held on the Soft tyre. Then, Supercars travelled to Taupō for the first time.
From there, the decision was made to roll out the change at familiar tracks that don’t feature as much load on the tyres, starting with Perth.
“When it came to the first trial event, at the time, we hadn’t raced at Taupō before, so we don't want to risk anything there. And the Grand Prix, we know that's a high load circuit,” Edwards said.
"It was taken to the TWG, effectively they all went off, they deliberated, they came back and we all agreed to drop two psi for Perth, Darwin and Townsville.
“It's to try and improve the racing of the tyre, and try and overcome some of the overheating issues that we have.
“We're going to review it after Perth, and gauge whether the drivers felt it was a good thing or not. But, the intention is that we’ll roll out the lower tyre pressure at more events once we've built some confidence."
The season will resume in Perth on May 17-19. Tickets for the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint are on sale now. International viewers can follow all the action on Superview.
