If rain impacts either today’s or Sunday’s two Chevrolet Dual in Detroit Grand Prix races, Firestone will be ready with a new rain tire, introduced for competition this weekend for the Belle Isle events.
Firestone parent company, Bridgestone Americas, introduced the new Firestone Firehawk rain tire for the Verizon IndyCar Series, the first new rain tire design in three years, with an all-new tread pattern.
According to a media release, “The tire features a grooved tread pattern for improved grip and control in wet conditions, and is specially designed to reduce hydroplaning.”
Cara Adams, Chief Engineer of Bridgestone Americas Motorsports said in the release, “Racing in wet conditions demands slightly different tire capabilities and a tread pattern design that evacuates water, which is a key consideration in engineering our passenger tires.
“With the new Firestone Firehawk rain tire, Firestone customers can see the durable, dependable performance they get on the open road every day being tested and trusted by the world’s best drivers.”
The new rain tire, according to the media release, “features both asymmetric and directional tread patterns that combine to create a unique design for each tire position on the car.
“These highly-technical designs leverage insight from Bridgestone Americas passenger tire engineers to achieve an optimal balance of water evacuation, accelerating, braking and cornering ability.
“The new rain tire will continue to feature the gray sidewall, allowing fans, drivers and teams alike to easily identify the rain tire compared to the black-sidewall primary slick race tire. Rain tires are used on road and street courses only, as the Verizon IndyCar Series does not run oval races in wet conditions.”
Firestone has been the official tire of the IndyCar series for the last 19 seasons.