Tire Rules & Race Day Format for 2021
Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2020 11:36 am
I'd like to discuss our tire rules and race day format with the class.
Rotax Masters did not try the ROK format this year at the ABSO because of the tire rule we imposed which restricted each driver to having four new sets of tires throughout season. Overall, I really liked the tire rule and would vote for it to stay in 2021. I think helped make the racing more about driving ability and less about equipment, saved some of us money, and created a new competitive dimension to the racing: trying to be gentle on your tires while still going fast.
Our standard race day format is below and includes about 28 competitive laps (not counting practice):
Practice - 5 minutes / 5 laps
Qualifying - 6 mins / 6 laps
Pre-Final Race - 10 Laps
Final Race - 12 Laps
My personal experience with the Mojo D5 was that it safely lasted three race days (when using practice tires for practice) without significant performance loss, which is about 84 laps. I tried racing one set for a fourth race and performance sharply declined around 100 laps of use. Others may experience different wear rates depending on chassis, setup, driver height/weight, driving style, etc.
The 11 CKRC races had about 308 competitive laps in total (again, excluding practice). (The tire rule did not apply to the EDKRA races.) With each set lasting me three races, or 84 laps, four sets were enough for the season. Others may have had a different experience, and if so, it would be interesting to hear from them about it.
I've laid out my personal tire life experience to help with the topic that I mainly want to discuss, which is potentially changing our race day format to provide us with more competitive laps.
The ROK race day format is below and includes about 33 competitive laps (which is 5 more than our standard format):
Qualifying - 5 mins / 5 laps (sets the grid order for Race 1)
Race 1 - 6 Laps
Race 2 - 10 Laps
Race 3 - 12 Laps
Five additional competitive laps per races adds up to 55 laps over 11 races. A standard race day has about 28 competitive laps, so adding 55 competitive laps is equivalent to adding two full race days to the season.
In terms of tires, we would need to add one set to the allocation, increasing it from four sets to five for the duration of the season.
Practice days are plentiful; race days are a limited opportunity for us to race wheel to wheel, and I would love to see us maximize their potential.
The feedback from other classes who tried the ROK format this season was largely positive, but we would likely want to try it for ourselves before accepting or rejecting it. My suggestion is to try it for the first race of 2021 and then hold a class vote to decide on the race day format and tire allocation for the remainder of the season.
There may be concerns about not having practice for the first race, but I'm thinking that if you haven't practiced beforehand, five laps won't make a meaningful difference.
Who is interested in trying this out? Are there any other ideas about changing how we race?
Cheers,
Josh
Rotax Masters did not try the ROK format this year at the ABSO because of the tire rule we imposed which restricted each driver to having four new sets of tires throughout season. Overall, I really liked the tire rule and would vote for it to stay in 2021. I think helped make the racing more about driving ability and less about equipment, saved some of us money, and created a new competitive dimension to the racing: trying to be gentle on your tires while still going fast.
Our standard race day format is below and includes about 28 competitive laps (not counting practice):
Practice - 5 minutes / 5 laps
Qualifying - 6 mins / 6 laps
Pre-Final Race - 10 Laps
Final Race - 12 Laps
My personal experience with the Mojo D5 was that it safely lasted three race days (when using practice tires for practice) without significant performance loss, which is about 84 laps. I tried racing one set for a fourth race and performance sharply declined around 100 laps of use. Others may experience different wear rates depending on chassis, setup, driver height/weight, driving style, etc.
The 11 CKRC races had about 308 competitive laps in total (again, excluding practice). (The tire rule did not apply to the EDKRA races.) With each set lasting me three races, or 84 laps, four sets were enough for the season. Others may have had a different experience, and if so, it would be interesting to hear from them about it.
I've laid out my personal tire life experience to help with the topic that I mainly want to discuss, which is potentially changing our race day format to provide us with more competitive laps.
The ROK race day format is below and includes about 33 competitive laps (which is 5 more than our standard format):
Qualifying - 5 mins / 5 laps (sets the grid order for Race 1)
Race 1 - 6 Laps
Race 2 - 10 Laps
Race 3 - 12 Laps
Five additional competitive laps per races adds up to 55 laps over 11 races. A standard race day has about 28 competitive laps, so adding 55 competitive laps is equivalent to adding two full race days to the season.
In terms of tires, we would need to add one set to the allocation, increasing it from four sets to five for the duration of the season.
Practice days are plentiful; race days are a limited opportunity for us to race wheel to wheel, and I would love to see us maximize their potential.
The feedback from other classes who tried the ROK format this season was largely positive, but we would likely want to try it for ourselves before accepting or rejecting it. My suggestion is to try it for the first race of 2021 and then hold a class vote to decide on the race day format and tire allocation for the remainder of the season.
There may be concerns about not having practice for the first race, but I'm thinking that if you haven't practiced beforehand, five laps won't make a meaningful difference.
Who is interested in trying this out? Are there any other ideas about changing how we race?
Cheers,
Josh