The Paul Ricard 1000km was not an easy race for drivers, car teams and even tires.
The second Endurance Cup event of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS took place on Saturday evening and from a tire point of view the 6 Hours race was quite demanding.
The Pirelli technicians noticed this and had to experience various problems accused by competitors with the tires, something that must necessarily be analyzed very carefully and evaluated in view of the next events.
Even if what emerged on the French track left everyone with the thrill of running into trouble up to the checkered flag, you can’t draw hasty conclusions and to clarify Motorsport.com took the opportunity to meet Matteo Braga in the Le Castellet paddock. , Pirelli’s GT manager, who explained the situation experienced in transalpine land.
Matteo Braga, Pirelli
Photo by: Pirelli
Matteo, it was a long and difficult race, can you explain what happened with all the punctures that have been seen?
“The race ended at midnight, the checks are underway and we await the official data from the SRO Motorsports Group technicians and the teams, with sensor measurements in order to have the complete picture. A procedure necessary even more so for a track like the Paul Ricard which together with Spa-Francorchamps is one of the toughest circuits on the calendar due to a layout that combines long-distance and high-speed corners. “
Virtually all of the problems the riders accused with the tires occurred in one place, what is the explanation?
“From a purely technical point of view, we know that at the end of the straight of the ‘Mistral’ and at the entrance of the ‘Signes’ curve we observe the stress peak on the tire. In the long straight, pressure and temperature are lost, and when entering ‘Signes’ we try to bring as much speed as possible into the corners. If it happens to arrive in less than ideal conditions, it is precisely at that point that problems can arise. During the Free Practice we had no particular indications, but trajectories, brawl and conditions of the track are very different from what we later saw in the race, when the cars often have no alternative but to go over dirt or over abrasive surfaces typical of Ricard “.
Most of the punctures occurred in the first hours, then you gave indications on any changes to the parameters, so as not to risk?
“By the time you leave for the race, the set-up and strategies are now fixed, the only way to intervene to follow the evolution of the track and the temperatures is to change the pressure. In the first hours of the race there are more battles and yes asks for more from the tire and the car. Taking into account the obligation to use a fixed number of tires, the teams must look for the right strategy: whether to use tires already used previously, therefore already stressed, to keep the new ones for the continuation of the match, or immediately use a set that has never been used. These choices make the difference, significantly affecting the overall performance and in particular the outcome of the first stage of the match “.
# 63 Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo: Albert Costa, Jack Aitken, Mirko Bortolotti
Photo by: SRO
This time more than one brand complained of problems, were there any complaints from the teams after the race?
“The technicians teach us how we know that it is necessary to distinguish real punctures from other cases of tire-related events. After a race weekend like that of Paul Ricard, many of the cases can be traced back to punctures in the strict sense, caused by contacts. and debris. Those caused by stress must be analyzed and once the data is made available, we try to understand the possible causes of each situation together with the team and, if necessary, together with the Manufacturers and the promoter, to better face the subsequent races “.
The international situation is making it difficult to supply tires to the various championships, how is Pirelli facing it?
“It is not an easy period for anyone. At the moment we have no particular problems other than managing stocks to better respond to extra commitments, such as unscheduled events or private tests. Our obligation is to guarantee supply for the official commitments made with the promoters. of the championships. Logistics and shipments have certainly doubled the times, with unexpected delays that are putting everyone in difficulty, but until now we are able to do what we ask “.
Will there be any news for the 24h of Spa-Francorchamps?
“Not for now, then we’ll see how the tests go, with related discussions on the Balance of Performance that we are used to by now!”
# 32 Team WRT Audi R8 LMS evo II GT3: Kelvin Van Der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, Charles Weerts
Photo by: SRO
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