Cooper unveils new studded ice tyre for RallyX on Ice

RallyX on Ice’s title partner, Cooper Tire Europe has unveiled the new studded ice rallycross tyre that has been produced specifically for the week-long winter motorsport festival set to take place in Åre, Sweden from March 18-23.

Officially unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show, this tyre has been developed utilising Cooper’s experience in the field of ice racing and Scandinavian rally championships, and is designed to create less erosion on a frozen lake whilst generating more traction.

The 17-inch tyre contains 416 studs and has been tested on a specially-constructed ice circuit near the Arctic Circle, where a number of studding layouts were tried out to optimise ice grip while minimising the surface wear of the ice.

Cooper says that the new rallycross tyre will deliver a more consistent performance over a longer range as a result of a lower load per unit area, and is less prone to losing studs during use.

Cooper Tire Europe’s Development Chemist for Motorsports, Matthew Vincent spoke about the challenges of developing the tyre: “We received an approach around a year ago from the RallyX on Ice series organisers requesting that we look at designing a bespoke tyre like this. Given this is a new and exciting winter market for us, we didn’t really need much persuasion.

“The RallyX on Ice organisers were looking first and foremost for a tyre that fitted their existing summer rim. Historically, they’d had to buy new wheels for the series just to fit a bespoke tyre for three or four races. They also asked us to look at maintaining consistency throughout the event, and to make this previously very specific product feel closer to its summer sister tyre.”

The tyre will be used to start with in the Supercar Lites category, but should be able to be run on Supercars for the 2020 season, according to Matthew Vincent.

RallyX on Ice Series Director, Andreas Eriksson stated: “As we requested, it reacts more like the summer tyre, which will generate more of a level playing field for all comers. Previously, the narrow ice tyre was a little specialist, which gave a slight advantage to those drivers from the Nordic regions that were used to driving on it.”

For more information on Cooper Tires contact Daly Tyres on 069 648 99 or visit http://www.dalytyres.com.