The Supplementary Regulations for the Hidden Valley event stipulate that minimum pressure of the Dunlop Control Tyres shall be 15psi rather than the standard 17psi.
UPDATE: Further Supplementary Regulations for next week’s Perth SuperSprint state the same
Speedcafe understands that the change is an initiative of the Gen3 Technical Working Group.
The rationale is thought to be that, with the lower pressure changing the shape of the tyre, there will be more rubber contacting the road, meaning better drive, for longer.
Ironically, it was only two years ago that minimum pressures were upped all the way to 20psi for Hidden Valley, and warming tyres in the sun was banned.
The latter rule was dropped prior to practice but the higher pressure remained, prompting criticism from drivers including Shane van Gisbergen, who opined that the figure was “stupidly high.”
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That came a year after some drivers were left underwhelmed by the category debut of the super soft tyre, with hopes of high degradation and hence more entertaining racing not coming to pass.
The super soft has again been assigned for this year’s trip to the Top End, where a pair of 137km races will be held, each with one compulsory pit stop for a change of at least two tyres.
While low pressures generally create concerns around tyre damage, Hidden Valley Raceway is a relatively low-load circuit and hence the merit of the experimental rule change.
The Darwin Triple Crown takes place on June 14-16.
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