Bridgestone Americas, the parent company of Firestone, has announced that it will utilize its new plant-based guayule tire at all of IndyCar’s street races this season following a successful test last year.
Branded with a green sidewall stripe rather than red, the new Firestone Firehawk tire compound was developed as renewable alternative to the company’s standard tire compound.
The new compound is built into the sidewalls of the tire carcass, the details of which are critical to the performance of any open wheel car.
The debut weekend for the tire last year was positively received, and the series has now agreed to run the new compound at all five street courses throughout the 2023 season.
“We are driving sustainability in every area of our business, and we’re thrilled to be advancing guayule and other sustainable practices in America’s premier open-wheel racing series,” said Paolo Ferrari, CEO of Bridgestone Americas.
“Firestone has a tremendous legacy of innovation and performance in racing, which we will continue to build upon as we move into this new era of cleaner, safer and more sustainable mobility on and off the track.”
The guayule tire was first used last season at the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville, with the compound replacing the normal soft compound tire for the event.
Drivers reported that its performance was almost indistinguishable from a standard tire, and that it held up to the rigors of a race weekend.
Over 1900 tires will be produced from the sustainable plant that’s native to the American southwest, and a majority of the season’s race tires will be produced at Bridgestone’s Advanced Test Production Center.
Also part of the announcement was the news that the company’s synthetic rubber compound, which is produced from recycled plastics, will be used for all race tires in the upcoming Indy 500.
The first time the guayule tire will see the track this year will be at the opening round from the streets of St. Petersburg on March 5.
