Audi Sport signs MegaRide deal to step up tyre analysis

Audi Sport has secured a deal with MegaRide to step up its tyre analysis and simulations in DTM.

The 2018 DTM season has started at its traditional curtain raiser at Hockenheim, with Mike Rockenfeller leading the Audi charge with second place in race two, where the German manufacturer confirmed a new tyre model and simulation partnership with MegaRide.

The Italian company’s performance analysis focuses on tyre behaviour to help provide optimal set-up preparation which will be used by all Audi cars for the 2018 DTM series.

“We are looking forward at integrating our Vehicle Performance activities and vehicle simulation tools to the availability of such new tyre model, with the main aim of exploring its potential in allowing our vehicle performance team to get much stronger insight and understanding on the optimal thermal range at which the tyre compounds need to work,” Alberto Zumbo, co-ordinator for vehicle dynamics at Audi Sport, said.

“This would further improve our capability to get much more out of the vehicle setup as function of asphalt and ambient conditions.”

The award-winning adheRIDE and thermoRIDE models aim to simulate and analyse in real-time behaviour of tyres, and how it links with the whole vehicle, accounting for the deep relationship between grip, wear, temperature, road roughness and tread compounds.

MegaRide logos will appear on all six Audi RS5 KTM cars entered into the 2018 DTM campaign.