The subject of preheating tyres is, ironically, a hot topic in the run up to the Centenary Le Mans 24 hours, the cornerstone of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). As part of the drive to become carbon neutral, the FIA introduced a tyre road map for the 2023 WEC season. The aim was to ban the energy-sapping practice of pre-heating tyres. However, this has been thwarted by two high-profile accidents where Toyota?s Brendan Hartley and Ferrari?s Antonio Fuoco crashed at the Spa 6 hours earlier in the season.

Toyota?s Brendon Hartley crashed at the 6hrs of Spa earlier this season, with cold tyres the primary cause. CREDIT: Xinhua News Agency

Both accidents were attributed to leaving the pitlane on cold tyres. This prompted an in-depth investigation where the FIA and ACO have agreed to reverse the regulation and authorise tyre warming for all WEC classes for this year?s 24 Hours of Le Mans only.
Why do tyres need to be preheated"
Preheating tyres in its crudest form has been a part of motorsport since the 1970?s. Apparently, at the 1974 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix, teams stripped the duvets from their hotel beds to wrap around the tyres. Today, tyre warming is exploited across almost every level of car and bike racing, from Formula 1 and MotoGP, down to trackday bikes and radio control racing.
To understand why tyre preheating has become such an important practice, we first need to understand how a tyre gene...