'Braking so bloody deep': Drivers react to new tyre
More grip and late braking were the key takeaways from the field regarding Dunlop’s new Super Soft tyre compound.
The new compound made its debut in Practice 1 on Friday at the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown.
Fastest man of the session, Brad Jones Racing Nick Percat, was nearly half a second quicker than the corresponding lap last year on the Soft tyre.
Team 18's Mark Winterbottom, who was atop the time sheets for much of the session, said the new tyre rewards going offline better than any other compound.
WATCH: PRACTICE 1 HIGHLIGHTS
“It was confidence-inspiring when you drove into Turn 1 on the first lap… it makes your car feel different,” Winterbottom said.
“It’s a weird sensation, I guess. To have the confidence to hustle in qualifying, I reckon that’s what motorsport’s about.
“The softer the tyre, the more you can wrestle it around.
“The difference between the Super Soft and Hard tyre; if you slightly go offline on the Hard tyre, you ain’t coming back.
“With this one, you fight and fight and fight and fight to the death, and you can get it back.”
Jamie Whincup, who tested the tyre late last year, said the new tyre backed up what he learned.
“It feels the same as it did last year,” Whincup said.
“Tyre’s grippier, the car moves around a bit more, but they wear out faster as well.
“They’re doing what they say on the tin at the moment.”
Red Bull Ampol Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen was glowing, but hoped the degradation would be greater come the race: “It’s awesome; it’s always good to have grip.
“I didn’t do a long run; maybe in the next session.
“But I hope it degrades.”
WATCH: WINTERBOTTOM DISCUSSES SUPER SOFT
Winterbottom’s teammate Scott Pye, who impressed to fourth, was also pleased: “It felt good straightaway; on the out-lap, I thought, ‘This is nice’.
“It’s interesting to see everyone’s times are relative to what we did last year on the Soft tyre.
“The deg… hopefully it’s a sign of things to come for the races.”
“Braking so bloody deep into [Turn] 1 now,” beamed James Courtney, who was eighth in Practice 1.
“It’s pretty cool; it’s close to the hundred-metre mark.
“The other [Tickford] boys did a longer run to see how it deteriorated, I did a ‘Hollywood’ run, doing short runs.”
Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki, who was 15th in the session, echoed the sentiments of more grip, but didn’t experience as much degradation as his rivals.
“It kind of feels you’re driving on a road tyre,” Kostecki said.
“The car moves around a lot; it feels like you’re driving on jelly.
“Lots of grip, you can brake later. It should be interesting to see what happens in the race.
“The deg wasn’t really there for us, but we’ll see what happens.”
Drivers will return to the track for Practice 2 at 1:50pm AEST.
