Having a good tyre strategy is one of the key factor in motorsport that can lead a team to the victory. In the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup, the number of tyres is limited for each event. In order to better understand how all the tyres are prepared we’ve met with Jérôme Mondain, Manager of the Endurance program for Michelin.
Q: How you and your team do you prepare for every Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup round?
The weeks before an event, we start studying the specifications of the cars that will be there in order to define how our tyres will be used (camber, working pressure, maximum number of kilometres that a set of tyres can do). The week before the race, we adjust the logistics according to the entry list (number of tyres that we will bring as well as the staff).
Q: What are the different strategies that a GT3 Le Mans Cup team can adopt for a 2 hour race?
The strategy for a race will start with the qualifications. The sporting regulations authorise 2 set of tyres for the qualification and the race. It means that a team has to choose between using a new set of tyres for the qualification and another one for the superpole and use tyres that have already been run for the race. Otherwise, a team can choose to use one set of tyres for qualifying and the superpole and keep the other set of new tyres for the race.
Q: From a track to another, what are the changes that you can operate on the tyres? And especially for Spa?
With the sporting regulations the tyre specification is the same for all the tracks of the championship. So we have to do changes on the wheel balancers such as the camber, or the tyres alignment. We can also adapt the working pressure of the tyres.
Q: Which track of the 2016 calendar is the most demanding for the tyres?
Spa is the most challenging track of the season with an average velocity that is high, its quick corners and of course Eau Rouge that combines a high compression, a strong aerodynamic load and a high speed.
Q: In terms of logistic: - How many tyres do you bring for a race?
Usually, we bring 3 set of slicks tyres and 3 set of wet tyres for every car as well as one spare set in case of an unexpected event. In total it represents about 350 tyres for Spa.
- How many people are dedicated for each team?
We have 4 technical advisers that are dealing with the different teams.
