 LAKEVILLE,
IN -- The Grand American Road Racing Association has announced that
Hoosier will be an official tire supplier to the Grand American Rolex
Sports Car Series in 2004. Hoosier will supply tires for the SGS class
that currently competes as Grand Sport I in the Grand-Am Cup Series.
Hoosier will also remain the exclusive provider to the Grand-Am Cup
Series as well.
"With
the restructuring we are doing for 2004, the Grand-Am Cup Series is
being reduced from four classes to two classes," Director of
Competition Mark Raffauf said. "As the contracted supplier to
that series we are keeping Hoosier as the supplier for the SGS class
to honor the existing contract."
Hoosier
Tire has announced that the tire for the new class will be designated
as "SGS" and will be the only tire legal for competition.
This tire is an evolution of the Grand-Am Cup tire currently in use.
It will be produced as a racing slick and will incorporate several
refinements to improve performance without sacrificing the wear and
consistency that the "GAC" tire has provided.
Hoosier
Product Manager Mike Kraemer states, "We have looked very closely
at the things that worked in Grand-Am Cup. We knew that the GAC tire
was well suited for the Cup series. We wanted to make sure we kept the
excellent qualities and at the same time increase the performance
potential for the teams that move into the Rolex series."
Kraemer
continues, "We could have started from scratch and built an 'all
out' performance radial slick, and will continue working in that
direction for other markets, but in the long run that would not have
been in the best interest for the series," Kraemer added,
"It is harder to get consistency rather than pure speed out of a
racing tire. We have a successful product in the GAC tire so we
elected to use that as the platform for the new tire. This evolution
will reduce the need for extensive testing and chassis development as
well."
Hoosier
Sales Manager Paul Menting stated, "We could not be more pleased
at the decision the Association has made choosing Hoosier to
participate in the Rolex Series. I think it is a win-win-win situation
for the sanctioning body, the race teams, and for Hoosier."
For
more information about the new tires for the Grand American Road
Racing Association contact Hoosier's Tim Gilvin at tgilvin@hoosiertire.com
or by calling 574-784-3152. Tim is Hoosier's Track Service Manager for
the Grand American Road Racing Association.
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