Quote:
Originally Posted by HORNDAWG  They should be able to do both, but yes under contract. Full season with an engineer or part season without, but enough lead time from the team(s) on which rounds will be atttended. Also they can produce and have on hand enough tires to supply the P/T teams even on short notice (before the truck leaves for the race). They do have a shelf life! |
So in your plan Michelin would have to look into their crystal ball to figure out home many more tires to produce for the one offs here and there that may or may not happen. Where's the production facility...France? What's the lead time to get on a molding machine? It's probably an easy 2-3 week lead time to get tires made, plus shipping time. Do you just expect Michelin to have 1000s of dollars of tires in a storage facility, just in case someone new shows up and wants tires 3 days before and event? With myself not knowing a whole lot about the tire manufacturing industry, I would not want to sign up for that. That's me, sounds like a good way to lose lots of money and resources.
I guess if the manufacturer is allowed to charge more per tire for the P/T competitors that the full season ones, it might make business sense. You know...discounts for volume.
I guess 'normal' years it might be ok...years like this year would definitely screw any plan up. From 30-ish entries last year to less than 20 this year and only 22 entries at Utah in 2006. It sure would be rough to plan for that.