And where do you get those? Michelin, Bridgestone, Pirelli, Maxxis, Kenda, maybe Firestone ???? I think they have all had public problems in the past. Now if you can find engineers that can predict the weather and the wear on a new surface that had a few thousand miles of racing on it since the last test data you had, could predict how all of the teams would set up their bikes and how all of the riders would ride the bikes, then you would have a very valuable guy. Engineering can not happen without data and if you don't have the data, you are just left with making an educated guess, which seems to be what they did. Unfortunately, they guessed wrongly. The cooresponding positive thread would not have existed if they had guessed correctly, at least I don't remember a thread where anyone praised what a great job a tire company did at a certain race.
And watching the coverage on Speed, I see myself right over his shoulder during this interview explaining to a fellow crew member how I crashed last year at Road Atlanta. I never realized how much I talk with my hands.:crackhead: Oh well. I was on TV though.:up:
Hate to see red flags but when they're not there people bitch too. Personally the worst thing I saw last year was where the Moto2 guy got run over and the race went right on while they were basically (and not very doing a very good job of it) dragging a dead guy off the track. There are times when a race just needs to be stopped.
Silly. I do not need an apology from Dunlop. That was one of the most spectacular races I've seen in quite a while in the AMA. I dislike that they had to stop due to tire failure, but I don't think Dunlop totally blew it. I think the track is nasty on tires, there's new pavement, and think how much faster the current 600s are now also. They're gonna use more tire than the older bikes. Someone else pointed out the Pirelli flats at WSS. That could've also ended in someone dying, but no one crashed because of it, so it wasn't picked up as a big problem. Dunlop/Pirelli/Bridgestone/Conti/Dodge/Ford/Chevy..... yeah, let's all argue some more. I like my Dunlops, and I'm gonna keep racing them all season because they've worked perfect for me since day one.
My Pirelli vendor said the guys having issue with their tires were not running recommended pressures.
Thats an easy one... allow all tire companies to participate and get rid of the spec tire. Then only those running the dunpops would be out of the race, and it wouldnt have been stopped.
What year did the Indy F1 race turn into a 3 or 4 car parade event 'cause only one tire manufacture,if I rememder it was Bridgestones on those damn red cars, had rubber ready to meet the road? Michelin drivers sat out the event. It's not just spec tire series that have problems on high speed tracks that also require the tire to turn right; Not just bikes either.
We used to have that, without the results you predict. Refer to the AMA weekend at Road Atlanta in 2007 when the Sunday Superbike race was shortened to accommodate the one tire manufacturer having problems keeping tires together. http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=30122
I remember that...kinda silly to bend the rules for one manufacturer, but it certainly isn't the first time that's been done.
So you would rather go back to the old way of having tires available to a select few that were not available to everyone? The idea situation in MY OPINION would be allow all company's to participate, but have a fixed price point and make them submit a maximum of three compounds of tire each weekend for competition with the stipulation they are available for all competitors. Keep the limited quantity's also. I kinda like the idea of having to race the same tires you qualify on also. JMO Honestly, I was happier with the Dunlops last weekend than I have ever been.
Thats the AMA's fault... and they shouldnt have done it IMO. Big surprise it was dunpop People sign on to use brand X tires. If they cant meet the requirements and are unsafe they shouldnt race. Lose enough points and you'll put the pressure on the tire company to make something that will meet them. If they still cant, leave to another tire manufacturer... enough people leave and they'll get the point. I wonder if WERA would put a 6hr race on hold because 1 brand of tires has problems... I doubt it.
I'm sure it's not easy, since DIS is a demanding track by all accounts. But, Daytona gets hot, even in March. Nobody should be surprised about that, esp the tire guys. If need be, temp histories can easily be looked up for times/days/locations going back several years. [begin speculation] I'm not a tire engineer, but usually when things are tested (any industry), it's done across a range of conditions, including above and below what's expected for normal operation. Many times tests are done until failure/degradation occurs. I don't know all the details of Dunlop's D200 tires, but I suspect that if a skilled and experienced tire engineer from, say, Bridgestone MotoGP were to eval Dunlop's AMA operation, they'd probably find some issues. [/end speculation] Again, I'm not a Dunlop-hater, but issues with them and Daytona keep coming up, so it makes me wonder about their methods and what issues/limitations are keeping them from consistently putting their best product forward. Just my $0.02.