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Yokohama ADVAN excelled in
Monza’s unique high-pressure environment today, carrying the FIA World Touring Car Championship’s SEAT TDi to two
victories.
The
result is particularly
remarkable given the diesel-engined car was one of the heaviest at the
circuit, whose combination of long, fast straights and heavy braking
already
placed extreme stresses on the championship’s official tyre.
The conditions presented
teams with a tough choice as they tried to find the right camber settings to balance braking and cornering ability.
“Camber
is the
amount that the wheel appears to lean in or out when you view it from
the front of the car,” said Yokohama’s Technical Consultant Ian
Beveridge. “The different settings change the size and shape of the
contact patch between rubber and road, which obviously has quite a
marked
affect on the car’s grip.
“For
good braking
you need minimum camber to get as much tyre on the road as possible.
Through the corners you need quite a lot, particularly through a long
corner
like the Parabolica, which goes on and on.”
SEAT
usually runs high
camber on the Leon, which concentrates pressure to the inside edge of
the tyre down the straights but is needed to counteract the car’s
leaning through the corners. In Monza’s unique conditions, that put the
tyre under extreme stress but the Yokohama ADVANs came through,
helping Yvan Muller level the points with WTCC leader Andy Priaulx.
“Monza is
unusual,” said the French driver, who won today’s first race from pole position and is now looking to the final rounds in Macau.
“Macau is not quite as quick and there are no long corners like the Parabolica and Lesmo, which means I will have less
camber.
“In general
I’m very pleased with the performance of the tyres. I won the race so they worked well for me!”
The final rounds of the
2007 FIA WTCC calendar will be held at Macau on November 18.
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