Cars competing in the top LMP2 class of the 2020 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) will use the same tyre specifications as those employed in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). This provides Goodyear with a ready-made opportunity to continue its European motorsport comeback.
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 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.
The FIA World Endurance Championship 2016 season begins with the 6 Hours of Silverstone, and will be the first at which Michelin Motorsport’s newest endurance slicks will be used. The tyre supplier said it has focused its efforts for 2016 on the development of products for its LM P2 partners; the tyres were tested pre-season test at Le Castellet, France, last month. Michelin added that some changes have also been made to its wet tyres.
Dunlop will seek to extend its 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans success into next year as the manufacturer launches its 2015 GT testing programme. Dunlop also signalled its intention to expand its endurance racing activities to include new specification tyres for ‘open tyre’ GT classes.
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