Quote Originally Posted by quadzjr View Post
I don't know if you noticed or not but in the recent "sportscar" SCCA and Toyo decided from input form the spec miata community to bring back the Toyo RA-1 as the spec tire for spec miata.
(Which in my opnion is a dumb idea, I believe that tires are to be tested and in spec sereis to introduce new tires, not a regression, the R888 is a faster tire if you know how to set it up, but ohh well.)
You're largely missing the point. Spec Miata is supposed to be an entry-level series or at least one that caters to beginning racers. The R888 may be faster but SM racers have found that the RA1s are more durable (last more heat cycles), more consistent throughout their lifetime, more affordable, more user-friendly (less particular about how they're worn in, heat cycled, etc.). SM is a spec series (or is supposed to be, anyway) so it doesn't matter how "fast" a spec tire is, as long as everyone is one the same tire.