DOUBLE Gold Star champion Joey Mawson believes the imminent introduction of a new soft tyre will be the next step to improved racing in S5000.
The existing Hoosier product is known for its durability, getting faster and faster as it warms up.
The downside of its characteristics has detracted from wheel-to-wheel racing, though, Mawson feels.
This weekend’s SpeedSeries round at Winton will be the last for S5000 on the old tyre, with Mawson tipping a Monaco-esque procession.
The new Hoosier soft – which has been tested in recent weeks at both Phillip Island and Winton – will then make its racing debut at Sydney Motorsport Park in late July and will be used at all events thereafter.
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“I’m very much excited to see when we go to the softer tyre,” Mawson told the Castrol Motorsport News Podcast.
“I haven’t driven it yet but from everyone that has driven it, they speak very highly of it.
“They say you can definitely feel the potential of the car a lot more, the car squats a lot more, it doesn’t move around quite as much, so I hope the soft tyre will be able to promote some better racing.
“The tricky part at the moment is the tyre is so knife-edge because it’s so stiff that it doesn’t give much confidence in being able to dive in late into braking zones and really attack the braking, so that’s what holds back the racing at times.”
Australian Racing Group co-owner Barry Rogers added of the soft rubber: “The signs are it’s very good.
“It’s a softer compound, it’s a bigger diameter on the sidewall. It probably looks a bit more in perspective for the car.”
Nine cars will be in action at Winton; Mawson enters the event with an 11-point series lead over Cooper Webster.
