Dunlop-shod Signatech Alpine became 2016 FIA World Endurance (WEC) LMP2 champions at 6 Hours of Shanghai, the penultimate round of the championship, having finished fourth. The race was won by G-Drive Racing, also on Dunlop rubber, in its second consecutive victory. Additionally the ByKolles CLM claimed its first win of 2016 in the LMP1 Privateer class.
Rebellion Racing has claimed the endurance trophy for LMP1 privateer teams with two races remaining at the 6 Hours of Fuji. All teams used Dunlop’s medium compound tyre with some using strategies involving four stints. Rebellion has worked with Dunlop to develop tyres and the partnership has resulted in strong on-track performance. The Imperatori, Kraihamer and Tuscher driver line-up took another class win this weekend in the Rebellion R-One.
The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season midpoint race provided more exciting racing and wins, podiums and championship improvements for several Dunlop teams. The six hour race brought reasons to celebrate particularly for Aston Martin Racing who now lead the GT Manufacturers’ Endurance Cup, and the new-for-2016 RGR Sport team who won their home race. Showers during the race added to the race tensions but gave all three classes the opportunity to use the versatile Dunlop intermediate option.
The fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship takes place at the Nürburgring circuit on 24 July. The six hour race follows the double-points Le Mans 24 Hours where Dunlop saw considerable success in the LMP2 class. The tyre supplier adds that it gained valuable experience with partner teams in LMP1 and LMGTE.
The developments of Michelin’s endurance racing tyres are on show at this year’s Le Mans 24 hours. The manufacturer said its winter programme, conducted between November 2015 and the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 2016 season-opener at Silverstone, comprised every class, while focusing on making its tyres more competitive against increasingly active competition. Nearly every car competing on Michelin tyres has evolved since last year, the tyre supplier explains.
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.
G-Drive’s Roman Rusinov, Sam Bird and Julien Canal claimed the 2015 LMP2 title after winning the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Bahrain. Mike McGregor, manager testing & track support, race design & development at Dunlop, said: “Congratulations to G-Drive on the win and the title – it was well deserved. Their strategy worked really well with Sam [Bird] and Pipo [Derani #28] so quick and consistent. We’re delighted for Ligier, Jacques Nicolet and all the G-Drive team. Matt Howson also drove really well today and KCMG put up a really good fight.
Porsche’s success in the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) has been supported by its tyre partner, Michelin. The Stuttgart marque claimed top prizes in the LM P1 and LM GTE Pro classes this year, following its return to world class endurance racing in 2014 after a year of pressure from fellow Michelin runners Audi (in LM P1) and Ferrari (in LM GTE Pro). Michelin states that it provided tyres developed to meet the specific needs of its different manufacturer teams in the championship, which permits open competition between tyre firms.
Eight full-season FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) LMP2 entries will be battling for another podium or win at the 6 Hours of Bahrain. All eight have chosen to compete on Dunlop tyres and all eight have been on the podium during the season – a statistic Dunlop states demonstrates the competitiveness of the series. Joining […]
Following an 11 week gap since the Le Mans 24 Hours in June, Dunlop’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) will be in action again as round four of the series takes place on 30 August at the Nürburgring Grand Prix track. Despite the Nürburgring making its first appearance on the modern-day WEC calendar, Dunlop teams had the opportunity to test at the track in July where Strakka Racing topped the times on their first outing with their new Gibson car. From the 2015 LMP2 range, Dunlop has nominated the Soft and Medium options for the Nürburgring WEC event.
Strakka Racing will switch to running Dunlop tyres on its S103 for both Le Mans and the remainder of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The team is testing the Dunlop rubber, used by all other entrants in the WEC LMP2 category at Spa this week and will again at the Le Mans Test Day later this month.
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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