The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship may have been void of wet race days during the 2015 season, but Josh Cook and Dunlop certainly made up for it during a recent trip to the iconic Holy Island causeway
Dunlop and BTCC star Josh Cook put the new Winter Sport 5 tyre under extreme pressure by crossing one of the UK’s wettest roads whilst towing a wakeboarder as the road floods.
The causeway can flood in just a few minutes and over a hundred cars have been lost to the tide on the road. Dunlop designed the challenge to put the tyres under extreme pressure and push their performance to the limit in extreme wet weather circumstances. During the challenge the tyres were subjected to road conditions so severe that the surface water became deep enough to wakeboard on.
Located in the North East of England, The Holy Island causeway is a 1km long tidal road that connects the historical site of Lindisfarne to the UK mainland. The causeway floods twice a day as the tide sweeps in from the North Sea and covers the road within a matter of minutes.
Monster Energy athlete, Nick Davies, wake-boarded behind the car driven by current Jack Sears Trophy winner Cook in a crossing attempt that took place two hours after the 'safe' crossing times ended.
The leading high-performance tyre brand created the challenge to celebrate the launch of its new Winter Sport 5 tyre that offers excellent grip and performance to combat a variety of winter driving conditions, including wet, ice and snow-covered roads.
Tony Ward, Dunlop Marketing Manager commented: “With heavy rain and other extreme weather becoming more common in Europe, excellent grip is essential for driving in winter. We wanted to show how the tyre can perform in surface water deep enough for water sports. The challenge was designed to show that even in the most extreme of wet conditions the tyre provides excellent grip, good enough to pull a wakeboarder. The aquaplaning resistance of the tyre is crucial in a challenge like this and the tyre really has proven that its ability to disperse the water quickly and precisely enables it to resist aquaplaning and losing control in the one moment it matters the most.”
The Winter Sport 5 is the fifth tyre in an award-winning Dunlop winter sport range and builds on the success of its predecessors, particularly the dynamic Winter Sport 4D. The tyre, which is recommended in the Auto Express Winter Tyre Test 2015, was designed to help consumers continue to navigate unforeseen winter roads and conditions. Dunlop created the most unforeseen UK winter road, a tidal road that floods in just a few minutes.
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