Texas heat the next challenge for Goodyear’s new GT Hard tire

Goodyear’s new LMGT3 Hard tire fully delivered on its promise at its Interlagos debut, according to the brand’s endurance racing boss Mike McGregor.

The new tire – which is back in use for this weekend's Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas, and will be used again in Bahrain – met the American constructor’s internal expectations in its first competitive race meeting, in which AKKODIS ASP and Lexus scored a breakthrough victory in the GT category.

The Hard (red-labeled) Eagle has been designed to have a wider operating window in extreme climates and is more effective than the Medium (yellow) on more aggressive surfaces and/or tracks with higher sliding energy.

Despite the new tire being made available, Goodyear will continue to select a single specification for each event. This is unlike the approach favored by Michelin, which brings two of its three compounds to each event (except Le Mans, where all three are made available to teams).

Despite the challenges thrown up at Interlagos by resurfacing and cooler temperatures trackside throughout the weekend, Goodyear remains convinced the Hard still proved to be the right selection for the event.

“The whole philosophy of what we’ve done with the Eagle Hard concerns the long-term look at the regulations of reducing tires in the future,” McGregor tells RACER. “So we needed a tire that would be more consistent over distance. And if you do the timing analysis of São Paulo, obviously, some of it comes into play with the track, but it was still quicker than last year and more consistent with less degradation.

“It’s a little bit more difficult to drive. And in terms of everything that we’ve done on drivability, it does come away from some of that focus. But if you look across the field, the degradation was still there because of the nature of the circuit.”

José María Lopez, Clemens Schmid, Razvan Umbrarescu and their AKKODIS ASP Lexus team had no complaints about their new race rubber in Sao Paulo. DPPI

There were concerns at Interlagos from some of the teams and drivers, who questioned the effect that adding another variable into the equation – a new tire – would have on the category and the way it is managed via Balance of Performance.

Goodyear, though, makes the point that it handed the manufacturers and teams in LMGT3 ample opportunities to prepare for the debut long in advance, with testing. McGregor also emphasizes that, considering the broader perspective, selecting the right compound for the appropriate circuit is crucial to delivering optimal and suitable tire performance at each event for the competitors.

“It was race 1,” he says. “And some teams weren’t really happy with it. I don’t think you can make everyone really happy, and we made our lives difficult because the B (Medium) has been so good. It works on every car, it warms up fast, it’s consistent, and the drop-off isn’t that bad.

“What I’d say about the Hard, is that it was available in Bahrain 2024 and teams had the chance to test in the winter and throughout the season. We’ve had stock available, and teams that wanted to prepare were given the opportunity. Some did more than others.

“It’s easy to criticize a product when you have nothing else to compare it to, at a place like São Paulo, with the new surface. The Medium would have been better than in 2024, but it would have had more issues over a double stint, so I still think it was the correct tire to choose, and it was right to give it its debut there.

“We had nine dedicated trackside engineers in Brazil to do evaluation live, to help the teams get an understanding of what’s happening. Everyone learned something in São Paulo, which will carry over to this weekend.”

COTA looks set to be a different challenge for the teams, with trackside temperatures expected to sit between 80 and 100 degrees F throughout. Goodyear is confident that the competitors will see a significant benefit over last season in terms of longevity.

“It was cold in São Paulo; it’s hot here. The extremes are different in terms of getting the compound to engage with the surface,” McGregor said. “It should work as intended in terms of consistency and performance over distance. It’s a tire that has done exactly what we wanted it to do, we’ve delivered what was asked of us by the ACO and FIA.”