European Le Mans Series opens Dunlop’s 2017 international endurance racing season
- New cars: Ligier, Dallara and Oreca race together for first time
- New tyres: All new specs for LMP2 and LMGTE one-brand
- Medium and medium-plus slick compounds in LMP2 nominated
- New for 2017 - Dunlop providing medium and all-new soft option
The 4 Hours of Silverstone takes place on Saturday 15th April at the Silverstone circuit in the UK. The series includes six rounds throughout Europe, with the final taking place in Portugal in October.
The premier class, LMP2, features open tyre competition, with 10 of the 12 cars choosing to race on Dunlop tyres. The teams are competing with three of the four 2017 regulation chassis: Oreca, Ligier and Dallara. The 4 Hours of Silverstone on Saturday 15th April will see the 2017 regulation LMP2 cars battling together for the first time. Dunlop has developed a full new tyre range to suit the different size and increased power requirements for the class.
Vincent van Goor, Senior Engineer at Dunlop, explains more about the LMP2 tyre for 2017 in a short video here
In the LMGTE class, where Dunlop begins its third season as sole tyre supplier, one Ferrari 458 and two Ferrari 488s (all-new for this season), two Porsches and two Aston Martins compete. LMGTEs also have a full new tyre range, with confidential specifications for both wet and dry. Five different specifications are available over the season, of which four are nominated for this event. For the first time, the GTE class will have three dry weather specifications for the season. At Silverstone, for the first time, GTE teams can use the new soft slick option with medium slick, intermediate and wet tyres also available. LMP will have the choice of medium and medium-plus slick tyres for dry weather and intermediate and full-wet options.
Mike McGregor, Manager Testing & Track Support, Dunlop Motorsport
“Following on from a full new range in 2016 we decided because of the brand new LMP2 cars we had to have a complete new logic on what to bring for 2017. The extensive testing over 2016 on multiple continents and the knowledge from our 2016 LMP1 programme gave us the best indication of the requirements for our 2017 tyre specification.
“Building on our success with the new confidential specs we ran in ELMS last year we have increased the performance level again. In addition to competing in the ELMS, some of our ELMS teams will race in the Le Mans 24 Hours so Silverstone and Spa rounds are valuable training. For that reason we have opted to supply three specifications of tyre and will nominate two specifications for each event. So far the feedback has been very positive.”
The European Le Mans Series Silverstone 4 Hours starts at 2.30pm local time on Saturday 15th April.
Entry list including Dunlop teams can be found here:
Dunlop 2017 Tyres - European Le Mans Series
LMP2 – Set specification (soft, medium, medium-plus, intermediate, wet)
Open tyre competition
Two out of three dry specifications nominated per event
Tyres permitted per 4 hour event: 2 sets free practice + 3 sets qualifying and race + two single tyres anytime during event
The LMP2 range is the same new range that features in WEC. The different conditions of Europe, generally cooler, combined with the improved operating windows, will tend to favour the soft and medium options in ELMS.
LMGTE – All-Dunlop class (soft, medium, medium-plus, intermediate, wet)
Controlled/single brand tyres for all three manufacturers represented
Tyres permitted per 4 hour event: unlimited
Two out of three dry specifications nominated per event
Confidential 2017 tyre range – supervised use with greater performance
The ELMS LMGTE Pro range is again all-new for 2017.