Graining. It’s a buzzword in the paddock at the Qatar World Endurance Championship event so far, at least when it comes to the Hypercar class. It refers to a particularly extreme form of tyre wear that is more than subtly different to more linear degradation seen over the course of a stint on a set of Michelins and then on through a double. But what is graining?
The phenomenon that is sometimes called cold graining rather than hot graining - the latter is not a term not used by Michelin - is caused by the tyre sliding across the track surface when it lacks grip because it is not yet up to temperature.
