Announcement

Important Announcement – Gearing Change

by Mark March 5, 2026 0 comments

Last week one of our RHPK teams suffered a blown engine when testing on the MAXXIS slick tyre.
Since this incident, a number of people including myself have been investigating the background and detailed discussions around the tyres. We have found that the MAXXIS slick tyre is measuring a consistent ~-20mm smaller than the previous Yokohama, therefore causing additional revs at the end of Stadium, estimated to be around an additional 200+ rpm.
After some serious consideration we have decided to change the gearing to the following options for teams ready for Round 1, this weekend.

19/68 or
20/71

We believe this will drop the revs down to the expected/safe region to avoid any damage to our grids engines.
I cannot stress how much time and effort this has been for all involved, but we firmly believe this is the best course of action given the data presented in front of us and considering all options moving into round 1. The aim here is to protect our engines whilst we gather more data on the situation.

Quick Questions

Why was this not picked up sooner
A substantial amount of testing was performed on a number of tracks during last year with no real difference in tyre diameter being picked up and/or revs higher. It’s possible that the tyre batches are slightly different to what we had back then.

The winter cup was completely wet, where the MAXXIS wets are actually bigger than the Yokohama tyres and therefore we saw a reduction in engine Revs.

How did we come to the new gearing options?
A significant amount of time from a number of teams and engine builders. We believe this is the most cost effective way with the notice we had.
What we will be doing post round 1 with the data we have collected?
I’ve setup a small team to 1, test before race day 2, to review all of the data and speak to teams post round 1 with a view of moving forward with some options to present to our teams.

What is the format of Round 1, Will I have time?
We will give all RHPK teams the maximum format, ie. 3 Hours practice (8-10, 11-12) 30 minutes qualifying and 4 Hour Race.

Where can I send you hate mail Mark?
More than happy to take as much flack on Saturday 🙂

I’ve been on the phone for the past two days to teams up and down the grid and will continue to call teams tomorrow to explain the situation. I want to be transparent as possible, as I’ve always been with RHPK. There is a unknown around the tyres which could potentially risk our grids engines.

Thank you for your understanding and want to thank all of those who have been supporting, advising and assisting with this decision – You will all be named and thanked in person and at the drivers briefing – Thank you.