Tyres

Bridgestone’s new Potenza RE-71RS tyre has gone on sale in Australia, positioned as an entry-level motorsport offering within Bridgestone’s high performance range. Stepping in for the previous RE-71R, the new RE71-RS fills the range between the high performance road-focussed RE003 and S007A, and the track-only RE-11S. According to Bridgestone, the RE-71RS delivers a five per cent increase in wear life over the tyre it replaces, while also boasting lower noise during road use.

On the eve of this year’s Australian Formula One Grand Prix, former Aussie ace Mark Webber has been appointed as an ambassador for Michelin, the tyre that took him to his first F1 race at Albert Park in 2002. Webber, who is also a Porsche motorsport representative and has tested the new electric Taycan, said he still has vivid memories of his first F1 race – with the underdog Minardi team – even though it was 17 years ago.

French tyre maker Michelin is currently developing a tyre capable of cracking a mind-blowing 482km/h (300mph), which would allow street-legal hyper-cars like the Bugatti Chiron and Koenigsegg Agera RS to exceed higher straight-line speeds than what they have officially recorded to date (431km/h and 447.2km/h respectively).