05
May
2018
|
21:23 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

Dunlop takes 50th LMP2 WEC victory at WEC Super Season opener

  • G-Drive Racing claimed Dunlop's 50th LMP2 WEC win
    G-Drive Racing claimed Dunlop's 50th LMP2 WEC win
  • G-Drive Racing leads at Spa
    G-Drive Racing leads at Spa
  • Signatech Alpine Matmut and Jackie Chan By DC Racing at Spa
    Signatech Alpine Matmut and Jackie Chan By DC Racing at Spa
  • Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470
    Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470
  • Jackie Chan by DC Racing - now leads WEC LMP2 standings
    Jackie Chan by DC Racing - now leads WEC LMP2 standings
  • All-Dunlop LMP2 podium at Spa
    All-Dunlop LMP2 podium at Spa
  • G-Drive Racing wins 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with Dunlop podium clean sweep

Dunlop celebrated its 50th LMP2 WEC victory at Spa-Francorchamps today – the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) 2018/19 Super Season. G-Drive Racing won the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in convincing style after leading from lap 37 to the flag after lap 156. It was a day with an LMP2 podium full of yellow caps as Dunlop topped the historic victory by taking the top-five places in the class.

The six-hour race saw eight changes of lead before G-Drive Racing took charge in the #26 Oreca, with all but 29 laps of the race being led on Dunlop tyres. Signatech Alpine Matmut started from pole position but an early drive-through penalty hindered their charge. The French squad took the flag 55 seconds after the leader to clinch third. Sandwiched in-between the pair was the #38 Jackie Chan by DC Racing Oreca which was in podium contention throughout the race and crossed the line in second place but claimed first in the LMP2 title standings as G-Drive Racing is a non-points scoring guest entry. The sister #37 Jackie Chan car finished fourth and hence is third in the standings. TDS Racing finished the race in fifth to complete a perfect points-scoring weekend with a pole position and a top-five out of five result for Dunlop.

The heat of the day and track conditions led all teams to use the medium ‘B’ tyre option with feedback of strong tyre consistency.

The FIA World Endurance Championship began in 2012, with Dunlop teams winning all but one of the 51 races. Today’s win marks Dunlop’s 41st consecutive victory in the class.

Mike McGregor, Dunlop Manager Testing & Track Support

 “We’ve had an amazing opening round to the WEC Super Season – a fitting day to celebrate our 50th WEC LMP2 win – it looks as though we will have an amazing championship battle with performances being very close. Congratulations to G-Drive Racing for the win and to Jackie Chan DC Racing with Jota Sport for taking the lead in the standings. In the warm conditions it was good to see how consistent the tyres were – G Drive’s Jean-Eric Vergne drove a second stint of 18 laps with zero drop in performance which is a big positive to take into Le Mans.”

The next round of the FIA World Endurance Championship is the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 16th/17th June.