Revised tyre rules set to spice up Snetterton action

A change to the usual tyre rules looks set to add an extra layer of intrigue to the fight for the 2019 British Touring Car Championship title when the season gets back under way this weekend at Snetterton.

For the second season in a row, the Norfolk circuit has been chosen as the venue where the series will introduce a new element into the racing, with Snetterton having hosted the special ‘Diamond Double’ race twelve months ago.

Usually – at every circuit aside from Thruxton – drivers have to use two different compounds of dry tyre over the course of the three races, with a prime tyre used twice and an option tyre used once in a race selected prior to Saturday’s qualifying session.

This weekend however, drivers will have to use all three compound of Dunlop tyre on race day, but will not have to have nominate their choices in advance. The only rule is that once a car heads to the grid, the tyre selection is set, and cannot be changed.

Although the recent two-day test at Snetterton provided teams with the chance to run on all three tyre compounds, the differing performance of the soft, medium and hard rubber could well mix up the order, with every driver set to find themselves on the ‘wrong’ tyre at some point on race day.

“I think the tyre rules are going to mix it up this weekend,” Cobra Sport AmD’s Rory Butcher said. “In the last few rounds, we’ve seen a lot of drivers who have made the same decision on when to run the option tyre, so it hasn’t really made a big difference to the racing.

“Because everyone has to run three different compounds this weekend, I think there will be a lot of alternative strategies along the pit lane, and I think there will be a lot of overtaking and action as a result because of the different tyre performance.”

At the head of the standings, BMW pair Colin Turkington and Andrew Jordan will face the added challenge of carrying the most weight into the weekend, and Jordan admitted that adapting to the different compounds will be critical to a strong weekend on track.

“The emphasis is very much on consistency, which will be a challenge at Snetterton due to the tyre situation and it will be interesting to see what people do strategy wise,” he said. “Running on the soft compound against the standard tyre will be manageable, but the soft against the hard will be very tough, I think.

“A lot of it will come down to when you pick them, depending on the time of day and the temperature. It will be important to stay out of trouble and score well, even on the hard compound.

“The ballast will be more of a handicap than at most tracks due to Snetterton’s stop-start nature and heavy braking areas; I think Colin and I will certainly feel that in qualifying and race one.”

With the pre-qualifying tyre selection removed from the equation, strategy is now set to be based largely on qualifying results as well as the weather – with the possibility that rain could have an impact on Sunday’s action.

Should a driver endure a difficult qualifying session then there might be the option of running the hard tyre to take a double hit and get it out of the way early, although by the same score, running the soft tyre in race one could provide a way in which to make up lost ground.

It means there is the realistic option of some surprises on track, with it being ever more difficult to predict when will be the right time to use each of the three tyres.

“The tyre situation will certainly inject an element of the unknown and should lead to some exciting racing – not to mention unusual results,” Speedworks team boss Christian Dick said. “Getting that right or wrong could ultimately prove to be the difference between a winning and losing weekend…”