All change for Dunlop ELMS teams at round two in Italy
After racing on the modern Le Castellet track which hosted the first round of the European Le Mans Series last month, Dunlop’s teams will need entirely different set-ups for the 4 Hours of Monza. The second race in the six-event calendar takes place at Monza on 13th May.
The Monza track, parts of which date back to 1922, has completely different surface and track characteristics to the previous round. The lighter-coloured, less aggressive tarmac will mean lower relative temperatures and less grip. Teams will need to completely change the set-up for their cars to get the best traction and performance.
Last time out, Racing Engineering took a win in their debut ELMS race, with the Oreca crossing the line four seconds ahead of the TDS Racing entry. The top six all finished on the same lap after four hours of racing, five of which were racing on Dunlop tyres.
In the all-Dunlop GTE class, former champions JMW Motorsport top the standings after a last lap charge which saw the #66 Ferrari finish just 0.8 seconds ahead of the #88 Proton Competition Porsche after a last-lap change of lead. JMW were the 2017 Monza 4 Hours winners, albeit in the Ferrari 488’s predecessor, with the team’s 458 making its final race count by taking the flag first.
Dunlop has nominated the soft/’A’ and medium/’B’ tyre options for the LMP2 Dunlop teams. The GTE cars have the same A and B options for the full season.
The race starts at 12.30 CET on Sunday 13th May.
A full entry list including Dunlop teams can be found here
Mike McGregor, Dunlop Manager Testing & Track Support
“The last round was a fantastic example of great sportscar racing. With a completely different track we can be fairly sure of plenty more action packed into four hours. Monza has some similarities to the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit so for those entering the big race in June it will provide a good opportunity to continue with the preparations as well as competing for points in the ELMS.”
Dunlop LMP2 2018 Tyres
- Full new range - A, B & C slick options plus intermediate and full-wet
- New profile, construction and compounds
- Target on reduced warm-up time, improved consistency, performance, feel and feedback
Dunlop LMGTE 2018 Tyres
- Full new range – A & B slick options plus intermediate and full-wet
- New profile, construction and compounds
- Target on improved drivability, wider operating windows along with improved consistency and a major improvement in overall dry performance