Gulf Western Oils Touring Car Masters organisers are believed to be looking into how to potentially slow vehicles at this November’s Bathurst round due to concerns about tyre safety.
Speedcafe.com understands that the issue relates to the speed rating of the series’ Hoosier tyres, which is below the top speed achieved by some cars in the competition.
Seven different sizes of DOT radial tyres are allowed, all of which have a speed rating of W, which corresponds to a maximum safe speed of 270km/h.
That is significantly lower than what some vehicles have been achieving by the end of Mount Panorama’s Conrod Straight, with Supercars-like figures of even 290km/h known to be clocked before sweeping into The Chase.
The situation raises an obvious concern about the ability of the tyres to cope with those speeds, with some Speedcafe.com sources suggesting there would be the potential for legal consequences if something did go wrong.
Worth noting also is that, while TCM vehicles must be fitted with a roll cage, whether they are as effective as those of a Supercar, for example, is questionable.
What is not questionable is that they were not designed with a particularly high focus on aerodynamics, and hence are less stable than a Supercar.
TCM has now come a long, looong way from its concept, which was to make the historic cars more reliable and safer by using modern brakes, as one example.
Gradually, original parts supply problems have resulted in multiple composite body panels plus, plus.
The engines in these cars are more powerful than cars like DJR;s XD (says Dick).
The result seems to be that cars might be safer, but freedoms in parts and engines have surpassed even these safety and cost cutting rule changes. many competitors who have these cars sitting in sheds cannot afford to run them in a series. e.g. The Johnson Family XD, Tru Blu 3.
Surely, an electronic control, like Motec, could restrict the engines to lower revs and power, which would improve safety and probably cut running costs.
Alternatively, they can continue on their merry way to have rather expensive Historic bodies Sports Sedans. If so, they should have upgraded safety cages and tyres.
https://www.speedcafe.com/2022/09/02/bathurst-tyre-safety-concern-for-tcm/
