Tires will be decisive in our strategy
In a competition such as the Rally dos Sertões, more than the quality of the equipment, power, stability and reliability, in addition to the talent and strategy of the driver and navigator, one item - or better, four, in the case of cars - makes a big difference in the competitor’s performance: the tires. For the 2020 edition of the largest rally in the Americas, which starts this Friday (30) in Mogi Guaçu (SP), the X Rally Team will have their cars equipped with BFGoodrich tires. The race will cover approximately 5,000 kilometers in seven days, crossing the country to reach Barreirinhas, in Maranhão.
“When we used this tire for the first time, we could already feel a huge difference in performance,” said driver Cristian Baumgart, three times champion of Sertões. "The compounds have greatly improved our performance and even our confidence when attacking curves or driving on different surfaces", he added. His praise was underscored by his brother, also driver Marcos Baumgart, three-time Brazilian champion and South American cross country rally champion.
“They are softer, and therefore, faster than the tires we used previously. The BFGoodrich suited very well to our Toyota, and already in the first competition that we participated with this car and on these tires, in Portugal, we did very well. These tires have great credit for the performance that we have achieved ”, he said. In Portugal, the brothers competed in the Baja Capital dos Vinhos in late September. Cristian, alongside navigator Beco Andreotti, won the race, with Marcos and navigator Kleber Cincea finishing in third place.
The model that will be used by the Baumgart brothers in the Toyota Hilux IMA prepared by Overdrive are the BFGoodrich KDR2 + M Competition GO LT245 / 80R16, in which were incorporated all the technologies that the Michelin Group has accumulated during more than 100 years of participation in the most diverse competitions as well as technologies extracted from other types of use. The Michelin Groups ability to pool its innovations is unique in todays tire industry. For example, BFGoodrich KDR2 + tires have adapted an anti-puncture technology used in Michelin brand airplane tires called NZG. With this technology, the probability of a puncture or a cut in the tread has decreased dramatically.
“Weight reduction is also very important in a competition vehicle. BFGoodrich KDR2 + tires reduced by up to four kilos per tire in the 37X12.50 R 17 dimension compared to the previous generation. This makes the vehicles much more agile and easier to drive. And, through the new compounds and new materials used, BFGoodrich delivers the even more resistant KDR2 + tire, proven in tests carried out in competitions in the United States ”, highlights Flavio Santana, field engineer for BFGoodrich.
Another improved feature in BFGoodrich KDR2+ tires is the traction capacity in the most diverse types of terrain, thus avoiding the use of different tires depending on the stage of the Rally. The tread design was entirely designed on computers and improved by the most experienced designers of the Michelin Group in off-road competitions to provide a very quick cleaning of the sculpture when used in mud and wet sand, avoiding slippage and momentary losses of common traction for some uses and other tires.
Competitors are expected to face, for the first time in many years, truly mixed conditions in the Sertões 2020, as there is forecast of rain for some of the regions through which the race is expected to pass in the coming days. Thus, the usual dust will also have the company of the mud this time.
“Tires will be a determining part of our racing strategy”, highlights the three-time navigator Beco Andreotti. "The improvement in the cars traction with this tire was, for me, the highlight of this model", he said. "Even being in the co-driver seat, it is possible to feel the difference in performance, and knowing that we can count on a product of this quality of technology will make all the difference in our strategic choices for this Sertões”, concluded the three-time Brazilian navigator Kleber Cincea.
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