06/08/2004 High-Performance Kart Tires

Korbach/Essen, June 2004. Conti Race Contact – that’s the name of Continental’s special line of racing kart tires mean­while provided in many sizes and compound mixes, as slicks and as rain tires. No less than eight FIA/CIK-approved versions are available for the 2004 German Kart Racing Championships.

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Three sizes with extra performance capabilities are envisaged to take part in the fight for hundredths of a second. Insiders of karting sports know them under the name of CAA*CIK tires, with the first 'C' standing for the product designation Conti Race Contact, and the first 'A' denoting FIA type approval for 2002 to 2004. The second 'A' describes the degree of tire hardness: soft - an extra-soft compound combining very high grip with fine performance over the whole racing distance. A version developed to cater for more strength is CAB*CIK, and is also available in three sizes.

Both tires deliver a superb combination of short warm-up times and a special casing with extra lateral stiffness in the sidewall. This latter characteristic enables a very large contact patch for optimum transmission of power to the racetrack.

Kart races not only take place in the sunshine, and so rain tires often make the ultimate difference between victory and losing. The Conti Aqua Contact tire, or CAC CAW*CIK (W=Wet) for short, is one of the fastest rain tires on today´s market. It is fundamentally different to all other competitors on account of the tread pattern which is based on that of its counterpart for passenger cars. Extremely finely structured, the tread has special siping capable of ultra-fast dispersal of water from the footprint. The outcome is practically no aquaplaning of the tires. This tread design is the result of consolidating the resources of Continental´s R&D unit in Hannover-Stöcken and the silica technology expertise gained from the production of ultra-high performance tires for passenger cars. The tire stays cool for much longer than others, leading to a longer-lasting and unvarying level of grip - in fact, the tire maintains its performance for longer.

The multi-component structure of the tread has other benefits as well. A cushion layer - much harder than the tread - can be integrated as a result of using the so-called cap-and-base method. As the track gets dryer towards the end of the race, the tire gives the pilot sufficient reliability to cross the finishing line and gain valuable championship points. This sophisticated tread technology is also used in the CIA/CIK-approved slicks.

The Continental Corporation is a leading supplier of brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers. The company reported consolidated sales of 11.5 billion euros for 2003, and a year-end worldwide work force of around 69,000.

The Tire Division is an Official Partner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup GermanyTM. More information on this can be found at www.conti-online.com and www.ContiFanWorld.com.