The announcement comes after extensive consultation with stakeholders, including tyre suppliers, since an Expression of Interest for supply of tyres to the Australian Rally Championship was released in October 2007.
Trinder said while Rallycorp had received some very attractive offers, the complexity involved in implementing a workable scheme in 2008, meant that there was not enough lead time to fully explore all the options in detail for the upcoming season.
“Moving to a strict control tyre regime simply cannot be rushed and unfortunately all the necessary moving parts required to reduce the overall cost of tyres for all competitors in the ARC could not be brought together in sufficient time for the 2008 season,” Trinder said.
However, despite the decision not to implement a control tyre in 2008, Trinder maintained that finding an agreement that will outlaw confidential tyres (special development tyres with limited availability) and making tyres more affordable for all involved, is still very much on the agenda of ARC decision makers.
“There have been some very persuasive arguments for adopting a control tyre in the ARC, and there will now be sufficient lead in time to work through all the issues that need to be considered if a control tyre is to be introduced in 2009,” said Trinder.
Rallycorp Chairman, Stephen Ashton, believes the offers received concerning a deal for the 2008 season highlighted the potential benefits a control tyre could introduce to the ARC, such as a quality low cost tyre which would see significant cost reduction for many competitors.
“We received expressions of interest from a variety of tyre manufacturers, some being very appealing,” said Ashton
“It is unfortunate that timing constraints have stopped us from being able to move forward in 2008, however I believe we now have a solid foundation that we can build on which we can use to work towards an even better arrangement for the 2009 season,” he added.
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