Abstract: A radial ply pneumatic tire has at least two carcass reinforcing layers, each of which comprises two discontinuous plies. Each discontinuous ply is anchored around a single bead core and extends through a sidewall into the crown portion of the tire where it axially overlaps the tread reinforcing belt structure. The two discontinuous plies of each carcass layer are separated by a circumferentially extending gap, and the gaps in each carcass layer are staggered relative to one another as well as relative to the circumferentially extending grooves of the tire's tread pattern.