Goodyear has finalised the specification of the innovative all-weather tyre which will be used in next year’s PURE ETCR championship, following months of testing.
The company has taken part in a testing programme together with promoter Eurosport Events and the technical department at rights holder WSC Group.
The tyre, known as the Eagle F1 SuperSport, will feature a treaded design, with the single-specification rubber used at every track in all weather conditions, on a calendar featuring permanent and street circuits.
“We have another test at Vallelunga this week, and then the testing programme will continue early next year, when there will be more cars and manufacturers on track, to give us more data and information,” said event leader Sebastian Trinks.
“The tyre itself is finalised. We haven’t changed anything since its reveal in August, because it has performed exactly as expected. We’ve had very positive feedback from the teams’ test drivers, too.
“When the R&D team in Luxembourg and Germany was working on the tyre earlier in the year, they had a good window to do indoor testing and simulations while we couldn’t go out on track due to lockdown.
“We managed to complete a lot of the testing work in this period, to minimise the amount of work that needed to be carried out on a race track.
“It was a good example of adapting to the situation and making the most of the circumstances while we couldn’t travel, so an excellent job from the R&D team.
“It certainly helps that we work with the same team for PURE ETCR as in WTCR. It’s good for both sides – for the championship and for us – to have that same point of contact and to build close relationships.
“We’ve been delighted with the results in our first season as WTCR tyre supplier this year, and the feedback from Eurosport, teams and drivers has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Goodyear has worked primarily with Hyundai thus far, with Trinks looking forward to working more closely with CUPRA going forwards, as well as with Romeo Ferraris once their car hits the track.
“We know the Romeo Ferraris team already because they run Alfa Romeos in WTCR, so we have worked with them this year and got on very well.
“I’m happy to welcome the second car to be unveiled, and I’m looking forward to a good collaboration.
“We’ve been working closely with Hyundai so far throughout the testing programme, and look forward to working more closely with CUPRA as they continue their development work.
“It’s great that all of these teams and manufacturers are positive about PURE ETCR and we’re enjoying working with every one of them.”