24h Le Mans
The next round of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) is the race at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. After Silverstone, Imola and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the round in Spielberg could hold some surprises, especially given the track was resurfaced not long ago.
At 4.326 km in length, the Red Bull Ring circuit is a thrill-ride. Tight corners, fast sections, varying elevations…it's a race that promises to be exciting with 38 ELMS entries anticipated to hit the track. The confrontation between G-Drive Racing, SMP Racing and Thiriet By TDS Racing, who for now share the podium in LM P2, is expected to be close. Though in LM P3, the Duqueine Engineering team reigns, things are still up in the air in LM GTE, with Aston Martin Racing, AT Racing and Proton Compétition neck-and-neck.
The key element of this race in Austria could very well end up being the tyres. The circuit has been fully resurfaced and some chicanes have been added. Resurfaced, the asphalt will be fresher and newer, so new data will have to be collected to ascertain wear on the tyres, lap after lap. Mike McGregor, head of testing and team support for Dunlop, explains: "The biggest change from our point of view, and overall, concerns the repaving of the track which is now new and could prove to be aggressive on tyres. We need to follow closely the wear on the tyres and adjust our recommendations according to how the track and conditions change throughout the weekend. That will allow for better performances for everyone. It's always good to have new parameters to add in the race."
Rendez-vous in Austria at the fastest circuit per lap in Formula 1 (about 70 seconds). A track that demands a foolproof engine (more than 60% of the time the drivers are at top speeds), but also quite a bit of driving technique to take on flowing curves and fast and slow corners, blind. In the top single-seaters discipline, the repaving caused drivers to clock lap times faster than before. Will that be the case in the ELMS? The answer on July 17th for this four-hour race.
Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
> Special content and exclusive videos: get more with myACO! Join here!
> More info about the online community myACO free to endurance racing fans here.
Photo: The ELMS resumes at the Red Bull Ring this weekend after a two-month break because of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
