This is What Happens to Tires After Racing

A tire that’s been raced is clearly no longer smooth. This is what a tire looks like after dozens of laps.

Have you ever seen a tire after dozens of laps of racing? The shape is clearly still round, but the surface is no longer smooth. In detikOto’s observations in the Bridgestone garage during the Sepang SuperGT, the Potenza RE-71 RS tires looked very rough.

Many stones were stuck to them. Some of the rubber was peeling. The hairs had disappeared, but the grooves were still visible. This was a stark contrast to a new tire, where the grooves were still clear, the surface smooth, and the hairs were still abundant.

In each team’s garage, the rough tire surfaces were being trimmed. After trimming, the surface was smooth, similar to a wet tire. Whether or not they will be reused is up to the team to decide, as their condition is no longer optimal.

For the record, racing tires used in races will be recycled. Tatsuya Uchida, Director of the Global Motorsport Operations Division at Bridgestone Corporation, explained that the tires are recycled using a thermal method, which involves heating them.

“But we’re working on chemical recycling. So, for sustainability, we want to implement chemical recycling. We’re building a pilot plant and have already conducted research on chemical recycling. By 2027, we’ll have a plant for chemical recycling,” said Uchida.

When it comes to racing, tires clearly play a vital role. In SuperGT, for example, Bridgestone supplies tires tailored to each team’s needs. Tire selection is certainly not to be underestimated.

“The only component that touches the track is the tire. All information from the road can be learned from the tire. If the tire performs poorly, the car won’t be fast. So any information from the tire is vital for a race car,” said TGR Team driver Sho Tsuboi at the Sepang Circuit in Kuala Lumpur recently.