Dunlop engineers head to the second round of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) armed with more data to assist the LMP2, LM GTE and GTC teams in their quest to win their respective classes. May 17th sees the 4 Hours of Imola take place at the Italian track near Bologna.

Silverstone saw the new Dunlop one-brand GT teams continue the learning of tyre and chassis combinations following pre-season testing, with a post-race rig-test providing more information in advance of the Imola round. Dunlop engineers will work closely with their team counterparts at the track to get the best possible set-up for the chassis, tyres and condition combinations.

Dunlop has a history of performing well at Imola. In open competition in 2011 at the circuit, Dunlop was the only company with tyres capable of double stinting in GT and in 2014 the LMP2 tyres triple stinted. The track is classed as low energy in terms of tyre demands and Dunlop is therefore allocating the soft and medium compounds for the LMP2 class. LM GTE cars have different aerodynamic and mechanical grip requirements and will have the medium and hard options that were available at Silverstone. GTC has a single specification tyre as per the regulations.

Giorgio Roda is used to Dunlop tyres – he won the 2014 GT Open GTS title on Dunlop rubber. The Italian driver gives his thoughts on Imola in a Dunlop interview here.

Imola Race Fact: Jota Sport won the 2014 Imola round of the European Le Mans Series by a 28 second margin with 83 of the 139 laps driven by gentleman driver Simon Dolan.

Mike McGregor, Senior Engineer, Dunlop

“Imola is a track that has traditionally suited Dunlop tyres well and it certainly showed in recent years. The competition this year is stronger than ever with so many potential winners. It’s tough with only five rounds for everyone to make their mark so every round is critical. The combination promises great racing in all three classes that we provide tyres for – be it one-brand or with tyre rivals.

Great racing is what we strive for and we are proud of the feedback that we have received recently, including from Jota’s Simon Dolan and Harry Tincknell who were very complimentary, particularly about how well the new LMP2 tyres suit both ‘pro’ and ‘am’ drivers.  We have spent time testing with the different chassis on a seven-post rig so have more information in addition to the Silverstone data to help each team get their best set-ups for Imola.”

ELMS Dunlop Competitors

LMP2
33 Eurasia Motorsport Oreca 03R-Nissan
38 Jota Sport Gibson 015S-Nissan
41 Greaves Motorsport Gibson 015S-Nissan
44 Ibanez Racing Oreca 03R-Nissan
45 Ibanez Racing Oreca 03R-Nissan
46 Thiriet By TDS Racing Oreca 05
48 Murphy Prototypes Oreca 03R-Nissan

LMGTE
51 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia
52 BMW Sports Trophy MarcVDS BMW Z4
55 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia
56 AT Racing Ferrari F458 Italia
60 Formula Racing Ferrari F458 Italia
66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari F458 Italia
86 Gulf Racing UK Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR

GTC
59 TDS Racing BMW Z4 GT3
62 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia
63 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia
64 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia
68 Massive Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3

The 4 Hours of Imola starts at 14:00 local time on Sunday 17th May.

2015 Dunlop GT Tyre Range

(GTC – dry/wet restricted to 18 dry tyres GTE – medium/hard/wet)
• New 2015 range of Dunlop Sport Maxx GT racing tyres
• Developed in Nürburgring 24 Hour race and VLN environment over many years, with partner teams including AMG and BMW
• Extensive design work and rolling road testing at a specialist USA facility
• Final options tested in the USA before confirming the 2015 specification pre-season
• Significantly improved the performance of the tyre with improved durability

2015 Dunlop LMP2 Tyre Range

(soft/medium/medium+/intermediate/wet)
• Refined design using construction modelling to more efficiently position the materials to improve mid-corner grip
• New compound for the hard tyre increases durability
• New intermediate tyre compound improving grip
• Amended intermediate tread pattern more efficiently evacuates water operating further into full wet conditions without sacrificing performance on drying tracks
• Full wet tyre has a new construction which improves grip and driver feedback

Mike McGregor, Senior Engineer, Dunlop

“This has been one of our busiest off-seasons in a very long time with a huge effort to produce improvements across the LMP2 and GT ranges. The biggest leaps in performance and durability are probably the LMP2 intermediate tyre which has had really good feedback in testing and the GT tyre which is a major step forward for us.

“The official tests at Paul Ricard circuit two weeks ago gave us more information and we are working as close as ever with our teams. We are also providing more data to our GT teams in particular who are new to the 2015 tyres to make sure that we help them get the best set-ups for their cars at each track as quickly as possible.”