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Post by TheRealDC on Feb 15, 2010 19:14:47 GMT
Hmm - just a thought, but wonder why Kumho lost interest?? DC
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ianbru
Midfielder
Surprisingly, Ian Bru is not my real name! (it's Greg)
Posts: 96
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Post by ianbru on Feb 15, 2010 19:57:15 GMT
DC, I don't think it's anything to do with losing interest. It's more to do with Kumho being in a bit of a financial nightmare at present...... and the cost cutting is biting deep. Motorsport at club level (or any level really) isn't a big money maker for any tyre manufacturer as the volumes are usually fairly small and the cost of manufacture is quite high. Normally motorsport is simply used as a marketing or brand awareness tool. When things are tight financially, one of the first things to go is usually the marketing budget pot!
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Post by XR2 Baz on Feb 15, 2010 20:17:20 GMT
Or, perhaps they weren't too happy with us running Dunlops on the ST's given that ST's are supposedly the way forward However I would agree with ianbru and use the seeming catchphrase of the decade and say that "in the current financial climate yada yada yada". Aye, it's probably cos they're skint. Baz
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Post by Blair on Feb 15, 2010 20:20:51 GMT
Apparently there was a minimal number of Kumho tyres bought last year for the championship - once you take the prize money off I wonder if they made anything out of the XR2 tyres.
Barry you have a point as I think that was going to be a potential problem sometime in the future with two different tyres, Yokohama are aware of the situation and are happy with it thankfully.
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Post by s3swiss on Feb 16, 2010 16:35:54 GMT
If anyone hears of someone looking for some second-hand tyres (possibly Kumhos..) with a bit of wear, only been raced, never rallied - can you let me know? I've got a few.. Seriously, does anyone have any good suggestions for using them up? Any sprinters or hillclimbers likely to need them? We could all get together and offer them a good bulk deal. By the way - SMRC Standing Regs and 2010 Race Entry forms now up on SMRC web site.
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Post by aland on Feb 16, 2010 19:20:34 GMT
there is 3 or 4 members of the east ayrshire car club at kames that run fiestas in sprints, could be useful for them
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Post by XR2 Baz on Feb 16, 2010 22:09:08 GMT
I'm gonna use mine one way or another, track days and what not where I'm not out for lap times or more likely keep the best for my kit car which I'll one day finish rebuilding and I need decent tyres for.
I'd say fire them on e-bay, they're good for track days. Not the best for hills and sprints as they're too hard, but they're better than nowt if you're on a shoe-string.
Baz
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Post by XR2 Baz on Feb 20, 2010 20:18:10 GMT
To add some substance to the rumours that XR2's will go faster on Yoko's, I had a wee phone conversation with Stephen Emslie who was at the 'hill. Peter Cruikshank was testing with Yoko's on and apparently put in a lap of 63.0.
I expect we'll soon see something in the region of 62.5 once everyone get's used to them.
Baz
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Post by XR2 Baz on Feb 21, 2010 20:03:25 GMT
I have now heard that someone did a 62.6.
Baz
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Post by Blair on Feb 21, 2010 20:35:02 GMT
The new tyres could be a blessing in disguise for the XR2's don't you think? Ian Munro's pole time at the October meeting was a 63.4, the rumoured 1 second per lap faster isn't far off with that 62.6
That firmly puts the XR's and ST's on a level footing, in the dry at least. Maybe we could see mixed grids before long ?
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ianbru
Midfielder
Surprisingly, Ian Bru is not my real name! (it's Greg)
Posts: 96
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Post by ianbru on Feb 24, 2010 12:16:36 GMT
Interesting point Blair.
I'm not an expert in existing lap times, but if that's the case then it should make for some entertaining racing. If as suggested the ST's are starting at the front of the grid this year, and with them and the XR2's all starting on the same lights, then there is a big possibility that the quicker XR2's will be right in amongst the slower ST's pretty much from the off.
Where as before (from a spectators view anyway) there were 2 distinct "races" going on, albeit with both types of car on track at the same time, now there could be much less clarity between the 2 classes it seems.
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Post by TheRealDC on Feb 24, 2010 13:22:48 GMT
Ian As I understand it, there are no changes to the race config. ST's will still start 30 seconds behind XR2's. I think that makes even more sense now as it should now mean that (in the dry at least) the leading ST's will not catch the leading XR2's. Please someone chime in and correct me or confirm what I've seen posted previously DC
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ianbru
Midfielder
Surprisingly, Ian Bru is not my real name! (it's Greg)
Posts: 96
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Post by ianbru on Feb 25, 2010 9:22:00 GMT
DC, it does seem there is a wee bit of confusion as to what the regs are for this season. When I did my ARDS last week I was having a chat to Sandy Forrest who thought that the ST's would be at the front of the grid, and that both classes would start on the same light. He also mentioned the possibility of a safety car being introduced, the idea being to cut down on the amount of red flagged races and restarts. Anyway, I'm sure the full regs will be published soon enough and we'll all know for sure.
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Post by Blair on Feb 25, 2010 10:16:00 GMT
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Post by TheRealDC on Feb 26, 2010 9:27:34 GMT
Sorry Greg - obviously I'm not the most observant
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