Some tyres live fast and die young - particularly those used in endurance events. We track the life of rubber at Nurburgring 24 Hours
At 9.45pm, almost six hours into the race, the call is made to switch to the soft slick tyres and the pit garage explodes into life. Our tyre, along with its three team-mates, is removed from its warm cocoon and stacked onto a tyre trolley.
With a thrashing of transmission and a high-pitched squealing of brakes, the #33 noses into the pit box and there’s another spike of energy. It may be our tyre’s big moment, but over the following eight laps, the next 70 minutes or so, everyone is hoping that it simply continues to roll and nothing remarkable occurs.That is if you consider its main role unremarkable: transmitting about 550bhp to the asphalt, keeping some 1220kg of 911 supported as it pulls 1.6g of lateral force for more than 126 miles with well over 600 corners.
Despite being tortured around the Green Hell for more than an hour, our tyre still looks respectable. The sidewall is smudged, the identifying barcode not as clear, but its surface isn’t torn apart, just a little rougher. To the untrained eye, it looks like it might cope with another stint. The engineers know better, and it’s removed from the rim, never to be used again.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Rapper JayDaYoungan, 24, shot and killed in Louisiana hometownRapper JayDaYoungan was killed in a shooting in his hometown of Bogalusa, Louisiana, local police said.
Read more »
24 Celebrity Couples Who Got Together In 2022 (So Far)The fact that Bradley Cooper is reportedly dating Huma Abedin and Anna Wintour set them up? Wild.
Read more »
24 Chill Songs for Your More Laid-Back WorkoutsSometimes the best workouts are the relaxed ones.
Read more »
New, huge sunspot triples in size in 24 hoursSunspots, caused by the sun's tangled magnetic field, can eject solar material towards Earth resulting in geomagnetic storms.
Read more »
24 Times Actors And Directors Called For Better Representation In Superhero Movies'I don’t understand how you could think that a certain type of person isn’t allowed to be a superhero.' —Brie Larson
Read more »