Dunlop Gears Up For Longest UK Race

The Britcar 24 Hours is seen by some as the jewel in the UK endurance racing crown. Following the successful inaugural event in 2005, the marathon race returns to Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit from 9-10 September and has attracted a diverse range of cars, and headline sponsorship from Dunlop. With the biggest starting line-up in UK racing, up to 80 cars are expected to take to the grid for the 24 Hour race, including Porsches, Ferraris, BMWs and TVRs.

According to company representatives, Dunlop’s experience in endurance racing, born from 34 wins in the Le Mans 24 hour race, makes the Birmingham built tyres the natural choice for long distance racers. Winning in endurance racing is not just about tyre durability. Despite the long distance demands, outright performance and the ability to produce consistently fast lap times are still vitally important.

Britcar’s claim to being the fastest championship for GT type cars is underlined by the lap times achieved this year compared to rival championships. The British GTC spec Ferrari 360 of Adam Wilcox was a startling 1.5 seconds a lap quicker in Britcar specification on Dunlop tyres at the challenging Oulton Park circuit than the same car and driver on the rival brand tyres used in the British GT series, according to Dunlop.

“This performance of the Dunlop race tyres was also underlined by recent British GT championship races at Donington and Snetterton. The best Dunlop lap at Donington is an incredible 2.5 seconds faster than the same spec of car running on rival tyres. Dunlop are proud to play a major role in establishing the Britcar series, and the 24 hour race, as Britain’s premier GT/endurance event, developing tyres that provide sustained performance and safety for these marathon events,” commented Dunlop’s Gary Wassell.

Dunlop, in conjunction with their motorsport partner, Northamptonshire based HP tyres, expect to fit around 2,500 tyres during the race weekend in the Dunlop village in the Silverstone paddock. 25 tonnes of tyres, ranging from 14 to 19-inch sizes, will be managed, handled, fitted and engineered by the Dunlop crew operating from their seven articulated trailers in the Dunlop village.