More than 160 teams will take part in the Nürburgring 24-hour race on the weekend of 27-28 May, many of which will be supplied with Dunlop’s latest tyres. The manufacturer explains how it has re-worked its 4,000 strong offering for the event to equip manufacturer and privateer teams.
Giti Tire will sponsor Team BRIT (British Racing Injured Troops) in the Fun Cup endurance championship. The manufacturer is the official tyre partner for the series, and will supply Team BRIT cars with its Giti GTR2 competition racing tyres. The sponsorship increases the manufacturer’s involvement in the series; it is also running a car with its GT Radial brand in the 2017 series.
Pirelli will bring around 3,000 P Zero tyres to Silverstoe for the second round of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and the Lamborghini Super Trofeo. The P Zero DHD will be fitted to the entire Blancpain GT grid, provisionally of 55 cars, while the DH slick will be supplied to the Lamborghini Super Trofeo. With rain a possibility, Pirelli will also bring its WH tyre for all categories.
The Team Parker Racing Bentley Continental GT3 driven by Rick Parfitt Jr and Seb Morris and with Pirelli P Zero DHD tyres won the two-hour race at Rockingham in round two of the British GT Championship. Supplied with DH tyres, the Ginetta G55 of Will Tregurtha and Stuart Middleton won in the GT4 class – at 17 they represent the youngest pairing to ever win in British GT.
Dunlop will follow its successes in the first round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with round two in Belgium this Saturday. Spa’s infamous microclimate means that teams need to prepare for all conditions, Paul Bryant, international event manager at Dunlop Motorsport, explains: “Spa has always been one of the most unpredictable events of the year. We have been able to analyse the data from the Silverstone race and can work with our teams to improve the performance of the car and tyre packages. That’s particularly valuable in LMP2 where, due to the newness of the cars, our pre-season knowledge is limited.”
Giti Tire rides again with Fun Cup UK, having returned as official tyre partner for its second consecutive season. New for the 2017 season, the tyre manufacturer has taken its place on the grid too with a fully liveried GT Radial racing car. The company said the extension of its partnership with the series is part of its growing involvement in European motorsport. The car will be used to raise consumer awareness of the brand while supporting a number of marketing activities throughout the GT Radial Performance Centre (GTPC) network alongside exclusive UK distributor, Micheldever Tyre Services.
GRT Grasser Racing Team has won the opening round of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup at Monza in its #63 Lamborghini Huracan GT3, using the Pirelli P Zero DHD tyre. The drivers making up the team were Christian Engelhart, Andrea Caldarelli and Mirko Bortolotti. In race two of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, also run on 23 April, Antonelli Motorsport drivers Loris Spinelli and Mikael Grenier emerged victorious.
United Autosports won, while TF Sport claimed the GTE class win at the 4 Hours of Silverstone on Dunlop tyres. Both teams were making their class debuts in the series; all teams opted for the medium option in the cool conditions.
The Dunlop-shod GMT94 Yamaha team took its third Le Mans 24 Hours victory with a strong performance in the second round of the FIM Endurance World Championship on the Bugatti track. The team took the lead at the 21 hour mark and overcame a late collision with another bike to win by just over a minute. The win on Dunlop’s commercially available KR106/KR108 tyres marks the second victory for David Checa, and the first for Niccolo Canepa and rookie Mike Di Meglio.
Jota Sport number 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing was the first new generation FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) LMP2 race winner at the 6 Hours of Silverstone on Dunlop’s tyres. The number 31 Vaillante Rebellion and TDS Racing completed the podium. Jean-Felix Bazelin, director of operations, Dunlop Motorsport, said: “It was the first race of the year with the new regulations in LMP2 with much more power and more downforce, and cars with relatively little mileage and data so we have all learned more this weekend and will improve for the next race.”
The Italian Autodromo Nazionale Monza hosted the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) pre-season test, the first opportunity for fans to see all the 2017 competitors and for teams to gather data before the season begins in two weeks’ time. In around 14 hours of track time, teams worked on set-ups to optimise their new tyre and car combinations; the 14 cars covered 2268 laps – a total of 13138 km. Wet weather on Saturday evening and a damp track on Sunday gave teams opportunities to work with the intermediate and full-wet tyre options.
FIA World Endurance Championship Porsche teams Dempsey-Proton and Gulf Racing will run on Dunlop tyres in their global campaigns following comparative testing. Both teams have experience of working with Dunlop in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS), where the brand is the sole tyre supplier to the LMGTE class. Both teams will race in the LMGTE AM class of WEC, including the Le Mans 24 hour race.
Falken will line up on the Nürburgring Nordschliefe grid with two premium German racing cars for the first time, adding a BMW M6 GT3 to the Porsche 911 GT3 R (Type 991), which debuted at the 2016 event. Falken’s Porsche was the fastest in the 24 hour race, finishing in ninth place overall. Falken will enter both cars in various VLN endurance races as well as the Green Hell event; the team says competing with two different but current GT3 vehicle marques is unusual, but confirms the depth of experience of Falken’s tyre engineers and the wide-ranging performance of the tyres. Falken’s long-term partner, Schnabl Engineering, will supervise and support the two vehicles throughout the season.
Falken will show its most energy-efficient tyre to date for electric and hybrid vehicles and launch its 2017 race car when the Sumitomo brand exhibits for the first time at the Geneva International Motor Show on 7-19 March 2017 (Hall 6, Booth 6238, Palexpo).
Pirelli has announced an extension to its Bute Motorsport relationship, becoming the exclusive tyre supplier to the new LMP3 Cup Championship after signing a three-year deal. The new series was officially renamed at the beginning of the year following an exhibition race at Snetterton last October under the Prototype Cup banner. The championship features the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3), developed under the technical stewardship of the ACO and aimed at teams and drivers looking to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
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