I’ve heard people say that Automotive Racing is a complete waste of time, money, resources, and harmful to the environment. The reality is that it is vital to technological advances and discoveries.
In a recent article, Wired magazine reports Pirelli is moving toward a significant change in tire size in Formula 1 racing. For decades Formula 1 cars raced on 13″ rims, with tires that have sidewalls comparable to modern day trucks.
The new Pirelli tire is designed to mount on an 18″ rim and a tire with a significantly lower profile sidewall akin to modern day road cars. The new rim and tire combination looks stunning on the cars, but as Pirelli explains,
“The real reason for the possible change is that working with tires that are similar to those on road cars will make it easier for Pirelli to take technology it develops for F1 and deliver it to customers.”
The competition of racing creates an environment that focuses all racing team resources into finding a material or technological advantage. Once that technological advance is “race proven” it is common to see it introduced into mass-market automobiles.
It’s important to note that not all types of racing will produce technological advances because they are a “Spec Series”. This means all of the cars must be built according to defined specifications to keep the cars as similar as possible.
And that is why I don’t watch NASCAR.