DTM and Hankook introduce minimum tyre pressure level for safety reasons
The DTM’s tyre partner Hankook is going to set a required minimum tyre pressure in order to ensure safe running of the tyres in the races at the Nurburgring.
Hankook has observed that certain teams would run their cars with dangerously low tyre pressures in order to manage extreme tyre strategies, for example pitting in the first couple of laps to avoid traffic.
In order to avoid the safety issues associated with dangerously low tyre pressures, Hankook, together with the DTM organisers, have set a minimum tyre 1.3-bar pressure for tyres, whether on the starting grid or just before a pit stop.
“We found that some teams were running very low pressures,” Hankook chief engineer Thomas Baltes said to TouringCarTimes. “It was common for them to start the race with a pressure below one bar. This can cause issues when attacking the kerbs, for instance, and it’s a dangerous practice.
“We set a minimum for safety reasons. Basically, now running practically the whole race with just one set of tyres will be impossible.
Asked whether Hankook had an evaluation of the maximum number of laps the tyres could complete with the new regulation, or when could pit stops be expected, Baltes said: “We still have to see how the tyres behave with the new minimum, as other factors, such as tarmac composition, temperature and weather conditions have an effect. We still don’t know how this will affect the pit stop strategies. The only thing we are sure is that they won’t be able to run the whole race distance with just one set.”
Controlling the tyre has the right pressure is also in hand for Hankook: “Each tyre has a sensor on the rim that has the pressure and temperature information at any time, and can be read just by putting a scanner in front of the tyre. We can check them at any time, so that won’t be a problem,” added Baltes.
