Centennial, CO, September 14, 2015 -- SCCA Enterprises has announced that the new spec tire for the Spec Racer® racing classes will be provided by Hoosier® Racing Tires. Beginning January 1, 2016 Hoosier will become the exclusive spec tire supplier for both the SRF (GEN2) and SRF3 (GEN3) Sports Car Club of America racing classes. The supplier agreement is for three race seasons, through the Runoffs in 2018, and covers the remainder of the transition period from the GEN2 over to the new GEN3. This marks the first time for Hoosier as the exclusive Spec Racer tire supplier as well as the return to radial tires and to different tire sizes for the front and rear.
“We cannot wait for our racers to begin competing on the Hoosier tires,” said Erik Skirmants, CEO and President of SCCA Enterprises. “This was our most ambitious and thorough evaluation process ever in terms of selecting the most important cost variable to our customers, which is the tires that they race on.”
The tire selection process started in early summer 2014 with a request for proposal (RFP) sent to leading brands in race tire manufacturing. The RFP outlined strict requirements in cost controls, distribution, product stability, and partnership expectations. Each of the candidates was allowed to propose any tire they wanted and tire price was at their discretion. Said Erik, “We received five impressively professional replies, all within our requested parameters, allowing us to focus on only our key criteria of performance and total cost to our customers.”
Track testing was first conducted for all the candidates at two locations. Following that, race weekend validation was performed on the selected Hoosier tire. During all testing phases opinion leaders from the Spec Racer community provided feedback on how each tire would perform for a broad range of Spec Racer drivers. At the first test at Texas World Speedway the focus was on evaluating basic performance with emphasis on overall wear, first heat cycle performance, and multi-heat cycle grip levels. Heat cycled tires were also aged for 45 days and compared to new tires in the month afterward.
“Our second test at Buttonwillow Raceway in California was set up as a more ‘shoot out style’ long-run race weekend simulation with all brands running the same sessions at the same time. We again cycled drivers through cars set-up specifically for each tire brand, with assistance from each manufacturer’s engineers,” said Erik. Wear and lap time data points were recorded. The last test session involved a “hot” change over from high-mileage to new tires to search for possible first heat cycle grip advantages. Subjective questions were also asked of the drivers.
Erik and the SCCA Enterprises evaluation team were excited with the results. “We came out of the test with clear data that matched the drivers’ choice. Hoosier was the first choice but we didn’t stop there. We then did several more validation tests at actual non-Majors SCCA Club races with even more Spec Racer drivers providing us with their input,” Erik said.
To assist with the racers’ transition, the rules will allow the 2015 spec Goodyear® tire (dry and rain) to be legal in non-Majors SCCA Club Racing events until June 2016.
“SCCA Enterprises wishes to thank all who were involved in supplying test cars, test driving and especially all of the tire manufacturers who put in such great efforts to help us find the tire most suited to the Spec Racer and our racers,” said Erik.
Said Bruce Foss, Product Manager, Road Racing Division, Hoosier Racing Tire, “We are extremely pleased to have the SRF class as part of the Hoosier Tire family! SCCA Enterprises, their staff, as well as all of the teams and competitors that participated are to be commended for engaging in the most comprehensive tire selection process that Hoosier has ever experienced. An extreme accomplishment for all involved. We are confident that this process will offer the best all-around tire package available. Hoosier and its trackside support entities look forward to engaging and growing in this partnership for years to come.”
SCCA Enterprises, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sports Car Club of America, manufactures and supports SCCA Spec Racer sports racing car and the SCCA Formula Enterprises spec formula racing car.
Hoosier Racing Tire is the largest manufacturer of racing tires in the world with distributors located both domestically and worldwide.
Photo by Ken Brown
