Vredestein Sportrac 5

Recommended - Vredestein strikes a good balance between wet and dry road performance.

Former champion Vredestein just misses out on another win. This H-rated Sportrac 5 has yet to go on sale, but it looks as if the Indian-owned Dutch manufacturer has got the essentials right with a decent balance between wet and dry performance.

The only surprise was its rolling resistance result; while the Vredestein finished fifth here, it was quite a way behind the new Michelin and Continental.

The company’s engineers have preferred to give the Sportrac 5 wet grip over fuel economy. And they have succeeded, with a string of top results on wet surfaces. This tyre felt lively on the wet circuit, with the grip a little too much to the front, but the rear was controllable and helped us achieve a decent lap time. It was a good second in wet braking, too.

Yet that wet weather prowess doesn’t come at the expense of dry road grip, as this tyre fared well on the handling track. The steering was precise and there wasn’t much scrubbing as it approached the limit. It wasn’t so effective under braking, but there are only small differences between this and the rest, and the same is true in terms of cabin noise. This tyre proved surefooted in wet and dry, and is a worthy runner-up.