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February 3, 2020

A message from the Solo Events Board on SSC Tire Selection for 2020

A message from the Solo Events Board on SSC Tire Selection for 2020

The following message was emailed to SSC and SSCL Competitors at the 2019 Solo Nationals Competitors on the morning of February 2nd, 2020:

SSC Drivers —

Until a few days ago, there was a great deal of uncertainty about the availability of the new Falken 660 tire for the 2020 solo season. Falken has stepped up and committed to sending six hundred 225/45/17 tires by air freight to arrive in the US in early March. 

While this is great news, we know that after testing by SSC competitors on the practice course at 2019 Solo Nationals, Falken continued to develop the tire to improve its performance characteristics. Since the tire has changed, we feel that it is prudent to test the final production tire before making a final tire selection for the 2020 season.

Testing will occur at a west coast local event on the weekend of March 14–15. 

We will review test results and make a final decision during the week of March 15. In the meantime, we are planning for the following possibilities:

  1.  The tire arrives on schedule, testing is successful and we choose the Falken 660 as the 2020 SSC tire.
  2. The tire does not become available or testing is unsuccessful. In this case, we will consider a different tire, or choose to continue with the Falken 615 as the only tire for the 2020 season. 

Please note that, in the event the 660 is approved, the Falken 615 will continue to be legal to run in SSC for the 2020 season.

Our goal is to announce the tire decision by March 20 and work with TireRack to develop an official cut over date that will allow competitors to have sufficient time to receive and mount tires between national events in early/mid April. We will also keep Rick Ruth informed about timing so he can adjust PAX if there is a cut over.

Thanks to 2019 SSC nationals competitors and other interested parties who dialed in to the recent SSC Tire Town Hall. Your questions and input have been extremely valuable. We will likely reach out to you later this month for feedback as we plan for the scenarios outlined above.

Finally, we realize that the uncertainty around tire availability is a challenge with a ‘spec’ class. No one is happy to be in this situation as the 2020 season begins, but our goal is to choose a tire that will provide stability to the class while improving membership enjoyment and value.

—SEB

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