[Si Coe]

Before people go around suggesting these new wheels are irrelevant to the UK market, its worth remembering how we ended up with 2.2in wheels.

It all started with a special Yokomo wheel / tyre made for the '89 Worlds. Back then all our wheels were 2in, but Yokomo used a loophole in the rules (which governed the outer diameter of the tyre) to make a low profile dirt tyre on a 2.2in wheel. Oh, and the wheels were pink.

After dominating the Worlds, everyone HAD to have 2.2in wheels, in pink. Never mind that the only 2.2 tyres were the Yokomo dirt ones, irrelevant to UK racing. We used to stretch and trim 2in Schumacher cut spikes to get them on to the 2.2in rims. In the end Schumacher had to start making tyres in the new size.

This is relevant today. As soon as people decide Evo format wheels are 'the next big thing' they will do all they can to make them work, and companies like Schumacher will have to adapt or lose customers.

Of course if they are comprehensively banned from major level racing, they are a lot less like to become 'the next big thing' so this might be irrelevant after all.