Goodyear back on track in European and International sports car racing

• Latest Goodyear tyres to be tested in FIA World Endurance Championship Prologue
• Development to continue ahead of the opening round at Silverstone

Teams from the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) take to the track for the pre-season ‘Prologue’ at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Tuesday. One of the most significant moments of this highly anticipated public test session will be the return of Goodyear to international competition.

The tyre company announced its global racing comeback ahead of June’s Le Mans 24-hour race, confirming that they will develop tyres for the 2019/2020 WEC season which begins at Silverstone on September 1st. Goodyear has a proud history in motorsport. In addition to 14 wins in the Le Mans 24 hours, Goodyear tyres were used to win 368 Formula One Grand Prix - a record that still stands unbeaten. Tomorrow top WEC teams will test Goodyear tyres in the Prologue.

Goodyear has been developing a new range of tyres for Le Mans Prototypes, for over a year, at their innovation centres in Hanau (Germany) and Colmar-Berg (Luxembourg). The first phase of this development plan is to introduce five new specifications of tyre for the highly competitive LMP2 class in WEC. This class, for 600hp prototypes, is one of the most demanding in WEC, as it features a battle between tyre manufacturers. At the Prologue, the Jota Sport, Jackie Chan DC Racing, High Class Racing and TDS teams will sample Goodyear’s latest development tyres. The WEC regulations allow tyre manufacturers to supply a range of three dry weather, one intermediate, and one wet weather, tyre to racing teams. Goodyear will use the Prologue, followed by a three-day private test at the same circuit next week, to evaluate different tyre options. They will then reveal their 2019/2020 WEC tyre range at the Silverstone season opener.

Ben Crawley, Director Goodyear Racing EMEA, explained the objectives: “For the Goodyear comeback, we are aiming high to deliver performance for our teams. The 2018/2019 WEC season featured an intense battle between the tyre manufacturers. Our priority has been to offer driveability and consistency that provides the teams with a significant step forward. These test sessions will allow us to evaluate the all-new range options against the competition, before we define our range at Silverstone. For the forthcoming season, Goodyear will focus on delivering success in LMP2 whilst evaluating other racing options for 2020 and beyond. These could be in other WEC classes or in other international racing categories.”

The 2019/20 WEC season will feature eight races of varying lengths, concluding at Le Mans in June 2020. The season also includes two 4-hour races (Silverstone and Shanghai), three 6-Hour races (Fuji, Sao Paulo and Spa-Francorchamps) and two 8-hour races (Bahrain and Sebring).

“The nature of the races (varying from 4 hours to 24 hours) means tyre choice and strategy are critical and it provides a motivating challenge for our technology team in our European innovation centres ahead of exploring other racing opportunities for the brand.”

Source:https://news.goodyear.eu/goodyear-back-on-track-in-world-endurance-after-13-years-away