The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Prologue returned to Le Castellet for 2018’s pre-season official testing on Friday and Saturday. The Dunlop partner teams all chose to focus on endurance testing, completing 948 laps ( 5556 km) collectively.
Dunlop teams last raced at the track just last August with the European Le Mans Series (ELMS), but resurfacing and the removal of the Mistral chicane have already shown significant changes to the circuit characteristics resulting in a significant drop in lap times. The ‘A’ and ‘B’ tyre options were tested during the 17 hours on track.
Paul Ricard Key Facts
12 seconds per lap faster lap times compared to 2017 ELMS
Drivers now able to go ‘flat’ through high-speed Signes curve
Dunlop A & B 2018 tyre options tested between 16 – 34 degrees centigrade track temperatures
Teams focussed on race stints with up to 24 laps per stint
Lap times on new specifications very consistent throughout stints
G-Force average through Signe up to 3.3G – equivalent to 1100kg per wheel
Teams able to post fastest stint times up to last lap of stint
Teams must now wait until 5th May for the first race in the 2018/19 Super Season which takes place at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit. That will be the only opportunity to gain race data before the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.
Dunlop LMP2 2018 Tyres
Full new range – A, B & C slick options plus intermediate and full-wet
New profile, construction and compounds
Target on, reduced warm-up time, improved consistency, performance, feel and feedback
Mike McGregor, Dunlop Manager Testing & Track Support
“This has been a good test for us in preparation for the Super Season. The key to racing is gathering as much information as possible at this stage to understand as much as possible before the racing starts. We have learnt that the tyres have performed very well in terms of consistency and pace, with good feedback from the drivers about the feel on track. Now we can analyse the data before Spa and work with out teams to aim for our first WEC win of the season.”
