Dunlop Introduce New Le Mans Tyre Technology
At this year’s Le Mans 24 hour race Dunlop will be using a new wet tyre designed to “improve grip and driver feedback.” The latest Dunlop tyre will be used in the top class of the event, the LMP1 Le Mans Prototype category, and features Dunlop’s both a new compound technology and a new tread pattern that the company reports has been successfully tested in recent events.
According to the company, this new tread pattern (which will be used on all Dunlop Le Mans wet weather tyres) features design technology that has also inspired Dunlop’s latest high performance road tyres. Like the recently launched Dunlop SP QuattroMaxx road tyre, the new Dunlop TF23 wet race tyre features different zones in the tread pattern to maximise the grip and driver feedback in changeable conditions and under different loads.
In addition, the outer edges of the tyre feature a shallower tread pattern compared to the centre area. Dunlop reports that this gives the tyre more grip when the load increases on the outer edge of the tyre – for example in long fast corners where the g-force of a Le Mans car puts massive energy into the tyres.
“Our latest tread design is more rigid. This gives a more precise steering response and increases the high speed stability of the tyre. More importantly, it gives better driver feedback – giving racers the confidence to push to the limit in all conditions,” senior design engineer, Tony Flynn commented, adding: “Quite often at Le Mans, and particularly during darkness, the track takes time to dry out after rainfall. The new tyre performs well in the transition from wet to dry conditions, providing strong pace without teams having to risk an early change back to dry weather tyres. It also gives the teams more flexibility, allowing them to run longer stints between pit-stops – even in changeable weather.”
The LMP1 category tyre also features a unique tread compound, specifically for the demands of high downforce cars on this circuit, which uses a combination of public roads and purpose designed racetrack. “The road-based part of the circuit has a highly polished surface due to the millions of cars and trucks that pound the tarmac each year. This surface also contains particles from road tyres and even diesel spills from everyday use, and in wet weather conditions can create a much more greasy track than the conventional racing circuit. Our new compound is designed to give the confidence, grip and feedback that drivers need in these tricky conditions,” said Flynn.
Nineteen of the cars on the entry list for the 12 – 13 June event are racing on Dunlop tyres, designed, developed and manufactured at the company’s Motorsport Technical Centre at Fort Dunlop in Birmingham, England.
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