Is the Vitour P1 Qualified as an Endurance Tire?
Part 1: Lucky Dog Enduro Race at Chuckwalla - Testing Day
Today was test day at Chuckwalla, and I flew out to join Dennis Uebersetzig and one of his friends to test the Vitour P1 in an endurance race with Lucky Dog. Both cars were running 225/40/15 Vitour P1 tires on 15x8.5 wheels.
My first session was a half-hour in Dennis' “Bruce,” a blue and orange NB Miata set up for Miata Superspec cup racing. With around 150whp, manual brakes, and good suspension, it’s fully race-prepped. It took me a couple of laps to adjust to the touchy, non-ABS brakes, but once I found my groove, the P1s performed exceptionally well. Even on very used tires, I was able to set a best lap of 2:04.0 (CCW) despite traffic, which beat my previous best in my STX-lite RX8. The tires held up well throughout the session, showing no significant drop-off.
Next, I drove “Cherry,” a black NA Miata with some carbon fiber panels, on the clockwise configuration. I put in over 30 laps at full pace on new P1s, with my best lap at 2:06.0. The consistency was impressive—there was no fall-off in performance, with the fastest laps coming late in the session. After my hour-long stint, the tires barely showed any wear, and the tread logos were still visible. We're now gearing up for 15 more hours of track time this weekend, eager to see how the P1s perform under the rigors of endurance racing.
Part 2: Day 1 of the Race - Lucky Dog / Wild Dawgs of Chuckwalla
Race day began with the qualifying session. Brian drove for 20 minutes, and I ran for 15 minutes, with both of us improving our times. I qualified with a 2:05 lap time (CW), which put us in the A group, though we ran out of time for Dennis to qualify. Dennis went on to drive the first 1.5-hour stint.
There were several laps under a full-course yellow, but Dennis still managed to run a mid 2:03 both before and after the caution, despite some slower laps due to traffic. The tire wear looked good, and we reached as high as 6th overall during his session. However, as the day wore on, our pace dropped. Brian’s stint saw him hit a best lap of 2:07, but we later experienced car trouble, which further affected our standings.
When I went out, temperatures had risen above 100°F, and the track grip was significantly reduced. About 45 minutes into my stint, I lost all electrical power and had to be towed back in. We spent time making repairs but after another attempt we decided to switch our wheels and tires to “Bruce.”
During the tire swap, we noticed one front tire was flat-spotted and showing cords, likely from a panic stop in my session. We replaced it with a scrubbed tire and rotated the remaining three. Brian went out again for another half-hour. By the end of Day 1, we had completed 6.5 hours of race time on the set of testing tires.
Part 3: Lucky Dog Chuckwalla Race Testing Final Results - Day 2
On Day 2, we began the race in 4th place overall out of nearly 50 cars. Dennis drove the first stint, maintaining a fast pace and hitting a personal best lap of 2:00 (CW), which was the 3rd fastest lap of the entire race field for the day. His stint lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes, and the front tire pressures started at 25psi had climbed to 36 psi by the end of his session, showing the stress the P1s were under.
I took over next, running roughly two seconds behind Dennis’s pace and but keeping us in the top 7. I was battling the Apex Wheels BMW during my stint when, after an hour, I had to come in due to fuel starvation. After 9.25 hours on the tires, we inspected them and found no cords. Brian then ran his stint but had to come in before he was finished, likely due to a blown head gasket.
At this point, the original three tires from Day 1 were showing significant signs of wear, with one tire corded and two others having thin tread peeling off in patches. Despite this, there was still tread left in the center, suggesting that adjusting the alignment for less front camber and more rear camber, as well as increasing tire pressure, could improve longevity. We swapped to our best scrubs on “Cherry” and completed three more 45-minute sessions. My final stint saw a 2:03 lap, the 6th fastest of the day.
Final Thoughts
Chuckwalla’s rough surface proved to be a demanding test for the Vitour P1s. Despite the challenging conditions, the P1s delivered solid performance, though tread life is shorter compared to other endurance-focused options. With some setup adjustments, including more rear camber and higher tire pressures, the P1s could potentially last through multiple endurance race days. While our Miatas weren't fully optimized, the P1s demonstrated strong potential, particularly for teams willing to sacrifice some tire wear in exchange for improved lap times and performance.
In summary, the Vitour P1 offers impressive consistency, heat tolerance, and grip in endurance racing conditions.
The below photos include Dennis and my session sheets from the day 2 morning stints as well, tire temps taken when Dennis came in, as well as other photos from the event.
