FIA homologates Conti speed record

The Federation Internationale de I’Automobile (FIA) Land Speed Records Commission has homologated Continental Tire the Americas’ world speed records for both ten kilometres and ten miles from a standing start. The tyre maker, in conjunction with Michael Shank Racing, Ford, Roush Yates Engines and International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) set out to break the records at Daytona International Speedway on 9 October 2013; the attempt was made by Colin Braun, who drove a Ford EcoBoost-powered Daytona Prototype (DP) fitted with Continental’s ExtremeContact DR (Dry, Race) tyres.

The new world speed record for ten kilometres from a standing start is officially 110.188 seconds or 203.010 mph (326.714 kph).  Additionally, the new ten mile speed record from a standing start is officially 171.414 seconds or 210.017 mph (337.989 kph).  Both records have been homologated by the FIA Land Speed Records Commission and break the former world records held by Hans Leibold for the last 34 years.  Leibold drove a Mercedez-Benz Turbo to a ten-kilometre speed of 199.101 mph and a ten-mile speed of 208.316 mph from a standing start in Nardo, Italy on 5 May 1979.

“It was an honour to be a part of such a historic day,” said Travis Roffler, director of marketing for Continental Tire. “Our team worked hard to develop a tyre that would sustain the loads placed upon them at those speeds on the high-banked oval, and to see Colin make those laps with confidence, on our tires, was incredible. It’s a true mark of distinction for Continental Tire and everyone involved in the project, to break a record that had been in place for 34 years.  Thanks to Jim (France), and all the partners involved for including us and congratulations to everyone.”

Continental Tire engineered a tyre specifically for this project. While based upon the ExtremeContact  Dry Race tyre that the DP class raced throughout the 2013 Rolex Series season, some minor changes were made to the tyre.  The tyre used for the record-setting run is lighter and has less rolling resistance than the standard race tyre and is a harder compound than the tyre used for a typical road course race.

“The Continental tyres performed great,” said Braun immediately following the record-setting run.  “We had good grip.  Obviously it’s a balance between rolling resistance and giving up speed and the amount of grip we have.  But the Continental engineers did a great job of bringing us a tyre that was not only fast and had good rolling resistance, but also had good grip to go out there and go 220+ mph around Daytona.  Hats off to those guys for a really good job.”