Van Gisbergen backs decision to revert to 2016 tyre
It seems like a step back but reigning Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen is supporting tyre supplier Dunlop’s decision to use the 2016 tyre at Bathurst and Pukekohe this year.
Tyre failures with the soft tyres were a major issue at the Phillip Island round of the championship in April and that compound was set to feature at Bathurst and the New Zealand round later in the year.
The 2017 tyre responds best when the cars are set up with a greater amount of camber but while that produces the fastest speeds, it also leaves the tyre exposed to greater load and is more likely to result in a failure.
A decision has been reached to revert back to the 2016 tyre for the two remaining rounds where the soft compound tyre is scheduled to be used and that is the right thing to do according to van Gisbergen.
“At Phillip Island, it was a bit hard because Dunlop aren’t doing anything wrong — they’ve made a fast, grippy tyre but the set-up that it requires goes out of the parameters that they give us, so it becomes a bit dangerous,” the 28-year-old said.
“You are basically de-tuning your car to make the tyre last.
“At a place like Bathurst, safety is paramount. You are doing 200km/h over the top of the hill and there is no run off, so you definitely don’t want a tyre failure.”
The move sparked some criticism from Erebus driver David Reynolds, who thinks teams that had the setup right at Phillip Island are not being rewarded.
“That’s a point as well,” said van Gisbergen. “We could de-tune the car a lot and make it safe but that is beside the point of it all. Someone is going to get greedy and want to go a bit faster and risk it a little more and they could crash and maybe take David Reynolds with them.”
The next round of the championship is at Queensland Raceway next week.