Who Makes The Ultimate Track Tyre: Michelin, Goodyear Or Pirelli?

Last week, Mercedes-AMG revealed its brilliantly unhinged GT Black Series. While the enormous wing, big vents and huge power output grab most people’s attention, one of the most significant additions to the car is the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tyres.

With a softer compound and even less tread than the Cup 2s, these boots on their own can shave a few seconds off your lap time. But it’s not the only ultra-focused track tyre out there - there’s also the Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport RS and the Pirelli Trofeo R. But which is best? For the answer, we need to hand over to Jonathan Benson of Tyre Reviews.

He cars were put through a variety of trials at Michelin’s Ladoux test facility in both wet and dry conditions using a Porsche 911 GT3 RS as the ‘control’. The centre includes a particularly scary handling circuit made almost entirely of high-speed corners - “By high-speed I mean the kind of speed if you put a wheel on the grass, you’re going inside and over and over,” Benson explains. Gulp.

We’ll let Jon (who thankfully got through the dry handling tests without any “over and over” experiences) take you through it in detail, but as ever with tyres, picking the best isn’t all that simple. One of the trio is clearly less extreme than the others, but that does make it more approachable. Beyond giving ultimate bragging rights for manufacturers and perhaps massaging the ego of a very rich track day enthusiast, you might even question the point of the other two.

Which of these hoops would you have on your ultimate track car?