PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (Oct. 13, 2016) — Continental Tire the Americas L.L.C. called upon five professional race drivers to offer input in the design of its latest UHP tire, the ExtremeContact Sport.
The new line is the successor to the ExtremeContact DW — on the market since 2009 — and targets car enthusiasts who demand extreme grip in dry and wet conditions, the tire maker said.
“We chose five of the best sports car drivers in the world to help deliver the performance driving enthusiasts demand in a tire. These drivers pushed our tires to the limits to help develop a tire that includes superb dry handling while not sacrificing any of Continental's award-winning performance in the wet,” said Travis Roffler, Conti's director of marketing.
“This summer tire is ideal for sports cars and sport and luxury vehicles.”
The champion drivers, who all have participated in the International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) top series, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, are:
- Andy Lally, a three-time IMSA champion and five-time Rolex 24 Hour winner;
- Joao Barbosa, reigning IMSA champion;
- Lawson Aschenbach, Continental Tire Sports Car Series champion and two-time World Challenge champion;
- Ozz Negri, Rolex 24 Hour winner; and
- Ryan Dalziel, 24 Hour of Le Mans winner, Rolex 24 Hour winner and World Endurance Championship class champion.
These drivers will appear in point-of-sale materials promoting the new tire, Mr. Roffler said.
“It was great to see the dedication and passion all the drivers had for this project,” said Bob Liu, product manager performance tires for Continental. “For the engineers to be able to ride with the drivers and experience what they were reporting was invaluable.