R1R Testimonials
We have had driver’s evaluating the Proxes R1R for road and track use. Below are some of the comments from these Drivers.
Name: James Cross Car: Lotus Elise S1
“I’ve been running Toyo’s new motorsport tyre, the R1-R for a few thousand miles on my series 1 Elise, through some of the worse weather the UK could throw at me.
Having previously run R888s and Lotus compound Yokohama Advan Neova road tyres, the prospect of having a tyre offering the high grip levels of the R888s combined with the everyday usability of a decent road tyre, was a very welcome one.
The R1-Rs didn’t disappoint!
The outright grip in the dry is excellent (almost to R888 standards) and unlike the R888s which need to be warm to work well, the R1-Rs work very well from cold. Both lateral grip and traction are substantially better than the Yokohama Advans Neovas, as is braking performance.
Having established these tyres work very well in the dry, an exceptionally wet (& cold!) trackday at Llandow circuit gave me amble opportunity to put these through their paces in the extreme wet. The R1-Rs absolutely excelled in these conditions. I’ve owned the Elise for 9 years, used it in all weather conditions with a variety of tyres but nothing has come close to the level of grip these tyres offered in near monsoon conditions. The confidence they provided was nothing short of stunning and they offered a nice progressive breakaway once the limits were breached. I was genuinely impressed.
The Elise is a light car and is quite sensitive to tyre choice. In my honest opinion, the R1-Rs are pretty much perfect for the car, combining 95% of the performance of full trackday cut-slicks with phenomenal wet weather abilities. Worth the wait!
Name: Brian George Jaguar No 3 e 2009 Class e Champion Car: Jaguar X300
“I am very impressed with the feeling the tyres give you when cornering you feel that the car is going to go where you ask it to go. I should point out that my car a Jaguar X 300 is used on the road including towing a large caravan it is also my track day & race car since having the tyres I have done 1 test day 1 track day 5 races & about 2,000 road miles there is No signs of any wear or degradation & lap times are certainly 2-3 seconds a lap quicker. I am sure that in warmer dryer weather they will improve as all track time at the moment has been cold & wet.”
Name: Matt Skelton, Editor – Jaguar World Monthly Car: 3.6 Jaguar XJ-S, 1998
“First time out on the R1Rs I went faster round the Brands Indy circuit than I’ve been before on the T1Rs – the tyres we’ve previously raced on. No matter how hard I pushed, the R1Rs performed consistently and with progressive breakaway when the limit was reached, plus they were extremely stable under braking.”
Name: Dave Bye, MD of West Riding Jaguar ltd Car: Jaguar
“As having more outright wins, 25 from a possible 33 since 2007 we felt our evaluation of our control tyre for 2010 the new Toyo R1R would be a benefit to other users.
I first tried the R1R at Snetterton for the final round of the Powered by Jaguar race. In qualifying I was nearly 2 seconds quicker than the fastest lap I had previously set when I won the JEC Saloon Championship race. I was so impressed with the tyres that we as a team decided to use them for the 6 hour Birkett Relay race.
The wet conditions only proved that the R1R tyre was definitely the right choice. After an extended stint and as the track began to dry, I set my fastest ever time around the Silverstone International Circuit to
help our team secure our Birkett race victory.
Verdict: Best all round road legal tyre I have used. Looking forward to using them in 2010!”
Name: Stephen Herbert Car: Westfield
“Having used the car on both dry roads and wet roads I am happy to recommend them to anyone looking for a high performance tyre for road use on a lightweight high powered car. I have been amazed at the amount of grip they are giving me on wet roads.
I have also used the car with these tyres on a track day at Oulton Park which was partly wet and partly dry in the course of the day and the tyres gave me no problems.
For someone who wanted a tyre that performs well on the road, in all conditions, and can cope well with the occasional trackday, I would say the R1R is ideal.”
Name: Patrick Doyle Car: 4.2 XJ6 Coupe
My name is Patrick Doyle, age 18yrs & I race in the Jaguar Saloon championship with the JEC. I drive a 4.2 XJ6 Coupe and have just completed my second year of racing using the previous control tyre from Vredestein.
On 26th December I raced at Mallory Park in the Plum Pudding saloon races and I used the new R1R control tyre. The conditions on Boxing Day were damp & cold and the tyres proved to be a definite improvement on the Vredesteins. The traction was very much improved and they were more forgiving in these challenging conditions enabling me to improve my lap time by at least two seconds.
Having raced at Mallory I am now looking forward to the race season in 2010 using these tyres and hopefully improving my times even more.”
Name: Ray Ingman Car: Lotus Elise S1 Sport 160
“The above vehicle was previously fitted with Toyo T1-R tyres – run at standard tread depth on road and track. – As performance ‘road’ tyres – these had set extremely high standards in both wet and dry conditions.
By comparison, on the road - the R1-R’s (having been scrubbed in and heat cycled) subjectively gave the car improved ‘turn in‘ grip and more positive response to input – increasing overall confidence in the vehicle. Wet weather performance and tyre noise was indistinguishable from the T1-R. On the track - the degree of improved confidence was more marked – enabling the lap times to immediately be equalled and beaten with ease. It was noted that on longer runs there was no appreciable degradation of any aspect of tyre performance – full tread depth T1-R’s suffered reduced grip and levels of response in extended sessions.”
The R1R will also be used by the JEC XJS Championship and also the Jaguar Saloon Championship as the control tyre.
For further information on Toyo Tires, please visit
www.toyo.co.uk.
