From Tire Review Staff & Wire Reports
Could there be a major tire shakeup brewing in the world’s two most popular auto racing series?
The Jan. 28 Winston-Salem Journal reported that NASCAR may be considering a “major change in its tire supplier contract.” Goodyear has long been the primary sponsor for all NASCAR Nextel Cup events. The newspaper suggested that Michelin “is rumored to be in line for the exclusive deal in the next year or two.”
Rumors of a NASCAR tire change have flown over the past two years, and most suggest that Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire would be the beneficiary of any switch in NASCAR’s sole tire supplier situation.
In Europe, Autosport magazine reports that FIA is still deliberating whether to adopt a single tire supplier system. FIA President Max Mosely was quoted as suggesting the change – currently both Bridgestone and Michelin supply F1 race tires – to help cut race team costs, thereby improving the survival picture for a number of F1 teams that are struggling financially.
FIA changed tire rules after last season in an effort to curb development and testing costs for F1 teams, and has been deliberating a full-scale switch to a single supplier in order to eliminate tires as a competitive focus.
“The tire war is not only killing F1 competition and stopping the lesser-funded teams from running near the front, but it’s by far the single biggest cost saving we could make,” an F1 technical directors said in Autosport’s story. “The tire war is 10 times any other cost…it’s senseless to continue with the tire war and it’s completely against everything else that Max has been preaching.”
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