They pre-heat the tires as that will naturally happen during a race and the compounds are formulated for racing temperatures. Modern climbing shoe rubber is an

They pre-heat the tires as that will naturally happen during a race and the compounds are formulated for racing temperatures. Modern climbing shoe rubber is another example of amazing friction. As Charles Cole (Five Ten founder) explained to me, you need both maliability and high shear strength so the "plugs" of the rubber that extend into the depressions in the surface do not tear off.