QUALIFYING AND TRACK-SPECIFIC TYRES.......Why have them at all?

[Rod Richardson]

Francis Batta is proposing that qualifiers should only be allowed for the top 8 qualifiers under the new WSBK superpole format.

However, I have never seen the point in determining grid positions for any form of bike or car racing by allowing the use of qualifying tyres designed to last for only a limited number of hot laps nor do I believe that tyres (tires for the US) should be designed specifically for an individual track.

I would rather see standard race tyres of uniform design for all tracks used for practice/qualifying sessions which would mean that the grid positions end up being more representative of the bike's and rider's potential race performance (not allowing for the rider's tactical racing abilities).

Any thoughts on this issue?

[Mach24]

I agree with you!

[The Phantom]

Yes hard to see any logical reason for qualifying tyres apart from reasons of advancing tyre development. But going racing also achieves this in itself, so really it's just more money being thrown at the racing program that could be saved or diverted to other components of the bike or team.

Qualifiers probably came about as a natural progression of the continual search for an advantage, and at the time they appeared there probably were no hard and fast rules on the use of them. The governing body may have elected to sanction the new tyres because they added to the spectacle for the tv and track audience. Which qualifiers certainly do, especially when the guys who are fast on race rubber get tangled up with the guys who are fast on qualifiers during the first lap of the race!

[The Phantom]

BTW Rod - are you the RR who is into VW drag racing?

[Rod Richardson]

BTW Rod - are you the RR who is into VW drag racing?
Negative .........I'm older, a bit uglier and live on Gold Coast although I was always a VW nut and had my first of 2 V-Dubs in 1964 and the last one in about 2002.....He must have pinched my name when I had a good credit rating. Who knows....we may even have the same father!!!
P.S. You'll never catch me in drag.

[The Phantom]

LOL, cool. Thought it might have been too much of a coincidence.

Still got the VW I bought when I was 18, nearly 22 years ago :)

[NinjaMaster]

Negative .........I'm older, a bit uglier and live on Gold Coast although I was always a VW nut and had my first of 2 V-Dubs in 1964 and the last one in about 2002.....He must have pinched my name when I had a good credit rating. Who knows....we may even have the same father!!!
P.S. You'll never catch me in drag.


LOL, cool. Thought it might have been too much of a coincidence.

Still got the VW I bought when I was 18, nearly 22 years ago :)

Wow, you blokes are old farts! :laugh:

I like qualifiers. I always found it exciting from the mid-point to the end of final MotoGP qualifying as the times came tumbling down when the qualifiers came out. And that's the point of 'em.

As for track specific tires, I think they are necessary. Dual compound tires to suit left or right hand circuits and specific compounds to suit conditions to prevent a situation like the Michelin riders faced at Laguna last year.

It has to all be kept within reason but I can see a place for qualifying and track specific tires.

[Rod Richardson]

[quote="NinjaMaster"]Wow, you blokes are old farts! :laugh:

Hey.........hang about. The Phantom's not "old". I have a son his age. Your kids probably reckon you are "old" at 29. My packaging may be creased but the contents are ok (so far.... but then again, things may be different tomorrow).

Getting back to the subject, I still fail to see any logic in allowing the use of non-race rubber to determine grid positions for a race in which those tyres are not used.

As for the use of track-specific tyres, if they want to keep costs down and level the playing field then why not standardize the tyres and have the riders adapt accordingly.

Have to stop there and untangle my catheter from the spokes of my wheelchair after I rolled down the stairway..........Cheers :hot:

[NinjaMaster]

Wow, you blokes are old farts! :laugh:

Hey.........hang about. The Phantom's not "old". I have a son his age. Your kids probably reckon you are "old" at 29. My packaging may be creased but the contents are ok (so far.... but then again, things may be different tomorrow).

No kids to make me feel old and as much as you're trying to make me feel older, I'm 28 for a few more months yet. ;)


Getting back to the subject, I still fail to see any logic in allowing the use of non-race rubber to determine grid positions for a race in which those tyres are not used.

As for the use of track-specific tyres, if they want to keep costs down and level the playing field then why not standardize the tyres and have the riders adapt accordingly.

Have to stop there and untangle my catheter from the spokes of my wheelchair after I rolled down the stairway..........Cheers :hot:

There's no logic to q tires, just they're exciting! (I thought the word 'exciting' deserves an exclamation mark)

The control tires are standardised and available to all so they're a level playing field. But they still need tires specific to circuits, particularly for left hand circuits and right hand circuits and also according to track surfaces. No point just using the same tires everywhere if they don't grip or tear up on particular surfaces.