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Barcelona, round five of the Formula One world championship. Pirelli will bring the hard
and medium tyres: the best choice for this circuit that truly has a bit of everything,
alternating high-speed sections with more technical and slower parts. The surface is
quite abrasive with plenty of energy being put through the tyres, especially on the left
side of the car, as the most demanding corners are all right-handers.
This is why Montmelo traditionally asks a lot of the tyres on the left-hand side of
the car when it comes to wear.
But how does Pirelli measure wear on a tyre?
The answer lies in the RTS � or Racing Tyre System. This is a piece of uniquely-developed
software that acts as each tyre�s �passport� � updating each change of status in real
time with the latest information.
Before assessing wear, Pirelli�s engineers scrape clean the tread of every used tyre
with a spatula and type of �hair-dryer� to reveal a clean surface that is not compromised
by any pick-up from the track.
Then using a depth measurement probe, the amount of rubber left on the tyre can be checked
by inserting the probe into any one of the six cavities built into the tyre precisely
for this purpose, which reveal wear. The depth measurement probe is linked directly with
the RTS, so as soon as the engineer measures each tyre, the computer tablet can display
graphically the wear profile of the tyre in question.
As soon as data from every tyre used on track is collected, the RTS programme is able to
supply every team with an accurate forecast of the useful lifespan of each tyre, compared
to the average value for other teams, and a profile to represent typical usage conditions.
This data is extremely important for all the teams as they base their race strategies on
the information supplied by Pirelli, according to the number of laps and pit stops expected
for each compound.