No More Spec Tires - Australian Superbike

Loved Andrew Trevitt's "Stopwatch" in the December issue.
Ditto his conclusions too.  

When all those riders were losing the front end at Daytona a couple of years ago, they would have liked to have had an alternative.

Innovation declines and costs rise under monopoly.
Innovation rises and costs decline under competition.

That said, when the rules allow several manufacturers to offer their own "spec tire" to the field yet some riders sign an exclusive with one manufacturer or another, there arises a temptation to cheat, to sneak to the signed rider a special apparently conforming but nonetheless non-spec tire.  Prototypes, next year's spec tire, have to be tested after all - or so the rationalizing goes.

Are ASBK and IEG, the promoter of ASBK, taking any precautions in this regard?

Enjoyed the tire test too.  Thanks for the couple thousand miles of pavement pounding.
Can't wait for the track tire test.  

xbacksideslider:


Innovation declines and costs rise under monopoly.
Innovation rises and costs decline under competition.

That said, when the rules allow several manufacturers to offer their own "spec tire" to the field yet some riders sign an exclusive with one manufacturer or another, there arises a temptation to cheat, to sneak to the signed rider a special apparently conforming but nonetheless non-spec tire.  Prototypes, next year's spec tire, have to be tested after all - or so the rationalizing goes.

Are ASBK and IEG, the promoter of ASBK, taking any precautions in this regard?



It's possible that the ASBK promoters will basically have the teams taking their tires from a specified batch of tires already in hand, preventing the possibility of a cheater tire going to a specific rider. It's also highly likely that there will be test days set aside at various tracks to allow the manufacturers to continue development with various racers if desired.