I am not privy to any "inside" information but I muss say that despite knowing the huge loads on Concorde tires at takeoff and the simulation by the BEA I have a hard time to believe that strip really destroyed the tire. To be honest, very, very convenient. And even if it did, the missing spacer on the landing gear was pretty much overlooked in the report whereas it was designed to precisely help in such circumstances. Overall I would say the Concorde operation at AF did not look as professional as it should in 2000.[/QUOTE].
Don't forget that AF had been using re-treaded tyres which BA had not.
It was believed that the strip cut across the tyre and at that speed in excess of 4kg of rubber hit the underside of the wing exactly at a point of a thick and thinner section causing the rupture.
The missing wheel spacer was causing the aircraft to track off the runway c/l. This meant that additional rudder was needed.
The investigation was extremely comprehensive.