Goodyear claims win over Michelin, Pirelli

Goodyear claims it has overtaken Michelin and Pirelli to take pole position in the ultra-high performance road tyre race.

Its three new hero tyres sit at the top of the latest Eagle F1 range, which continue a racetrack focus — and name — despite the company withdrawing from Formula 1 racing after scoring 368 victories between 1966 and 1998.

After nearly three years of development work at its European base in Luxembourg, Goodyear says there is a measurable speed advantage in its tyres, even against the benchmark Michelin Pilot Sport tyres which are a favourite with high-performance car brands and track-day drivers.

“Normally, on our track, our SuperSport tyre is faster than the Michelin,” said Goodyear spokesman, Mike Rytokoski, at a press preview of the tyres at the Ascari private circuit in southern Spain.

“Ultimately it comes down to the lap time. That’s the ultimate measure. On lap time we’ve beaten our competition.”

Goodyear has done timing at its Mireval proving ground in France and, although no-one is going on the record, there are hints that the Eagle F1 SuperSport RS hero tyre is more than a full second quicker than an equivalent Cup-type tyre from Michelin or Pirelli.

Even the starter tyre in the range, the Eagle F1 SuperSport — which sits below the R and RS — is claimed to be 0.54 seconds quicker than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S over a 3.3km lap at Mireval.

Rytokoski said there is growing worldwide demand for track-ready rubber thanks to the increasing number of supersport road cars and tighter restrictions on how they can be driven on the road.

In the past five years in the Asian region it claims more than 15 per cent higher demand.

“It’s a growing segment. And it has to do with the income level,” Rytokoski said.

“Many of us would love to do that. That’s what’s driving the growth. There are more and more consumers with cars that need these tyres.”

Goodyear claims a number of major improvements to the latest range that translate into better grip and feel, as well as the quicker times. They include changes to carcass construction, treat design and compounding, including a full racetrack soft compound for the RS.

“We are back on track. Better than ever before,’ Rytokoski said.

“Innovation has always been at the heart of Goodyear. Back more over 120 years. These are tyres that will shape the future of Goodyear.”

The new Goodyear rubber will land in Australia in May and, although Goodyear says the three tyres cover 37 sizes and 90 per cent of the ultra-high performance car sector, there is no detail yet on pricing or sizes.