Following a season-opening race in Qatar that ran with out interruption from security vehicles, there may be widespread expectation that Imola’s tight and undulating nature could conspire to supply incidents that the open, flowing nature of the Losail Worldwide Circuit helped negate.
Imola, which has changed Monza because the host of Italy’s WEC spherical for 2024 on what is anticipated to be a one-off foundation throughout renovation works on the dwelling of the Italian Grand Prix, options tall kerbs that GT3 vehicles can assault aggressively, whereas the Hypercars are suggested to make use of extra warning.
This issue, and the significance afforded to mechanical grip relatively than aerodynamics due to Imola’s larger proportion of gradual corners than in Qatar, means cornering speeds are extra evenly matched between the 2 lessons than regular. Overtaking will probably be tough, and the comparatively slim monitor and grass/gravel beds lining its perimeter will punish any passing makes an attempt not executed appropriately.
WRT BMW driver Rene Rast advised Motorsport.com: “Qatar is quite a bit wider, there’s extra run-off. If one thing goes mistaken, we’ve got run-off, right here you solely have gravel.
“Everyone must be conscious, the GT but additionally the Hypercars, we’ve got to respect one another. For positive it’s going to be tight and we are going to see in all probability a bit extra contact than in Qatar.”
Toyota driver Nyck de Vries defined that he was “fairly amazed at how aggressive the racing was” in Qatar and advised that threat administration could be essential on Imola’s tight confines, not least as a result of there’s a excessive likelihood of rain for the race.
“That is nearly the alternative of what you could have versus Qatar – that was very high-speed, very flat, lengthy monitor, lots of area,” the Dutchman advised Motorsport.com.
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“Though the character of that structure didn’t make overtaking essentially straightforward, right here there isn’t a area and there’s a lot of kerb utilization which is totally different than Qatar.
“It’s essential to be affected person and to complete, as a result of I do count on that we are going to have fairly an eventful race. Probably the climate is taking part in into that as properly.”
Problem in passing
Projections that overtaking vehicles of comparable efficiency will probably be powerful at Imola may very well be present in all corners of the paddock on Friday. Giuliano Salvi, Ferrari race and check staff supervisor, provided up an astute comparability when describing the challenges of multi-class racing on the Emilia-Romagna monitor, which most not too long ago hosted multi-class sportscar racing sanctioned by the Vehicle Membership de l’Ouest as a part of the European Le Mans Sequence in 2022.
“I heard somebody calling it the Monaco of endurance, and I feel that could be a very exact definition,” he stated.
“It is not going to be the monitor with probably the most overtakes within the calendar just because it’s fairly slim,” agreed Laurens Vanthoor, a part of Porsche’s Qatar-winning line-up. “Then once more, there’s not so many high-speed corners so that you don’t lose a lot aero.”
Gas consumption and tyre technique are key tenets of endurance racing that normally mitigate the importance of qualifying, because the minimal six-hour period of WEC racing sometimes permits groups that may eke the perfect efficiency out of their tyres over a double stint to make up for beginning out of place. However Salvi believes the battle to get into Saturday night’s Hyperpole session will tackle a particular significance in Imola, as these beginning close to the entrance will possible be gentler on their gear.
“It will likely be a really tense race, however not solely the race but additionally qualifying,” he added. “Qualifying will probably be essential, to begin on the entrance will probably be actually essential.”
#46 Staff WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin
Photograph by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photograph
This is applicable not solely to tyres, but additionally brakes.
“It’s one of many hardest tracks typically on brakes,” famous Lamborghini’s Mirko Bortolotti. “In case you can have a extra environment friendly brake part, holding your brakes alive for a very long time, possibly that will also be one thing that may [help] by means of the race run.”
The T-word
The place tyres have been a key buzzword in Qatar, visitors has taken up that mantle in Imola. Most anticipate that for the Hypercar race, the GT vehicles may have a key function to play in creating alternatives.
Bortolotti noticed: “You may get caught in a mistaken spot or possibly take a mistaken choice on passing a GT automotive, you find yourself on the mistaken line and that may open up alternatives for overtakes.”
“Probably the most overtakes will probably be accomplished after visitors or in visitors,” stated Vanthoor. “GT visitors administration will play a really massive function, additionally staying out of bother in these circumstances.”
BMW driver Sheldon van der Linde anticipates that the congestion “goes to be very tough to navigate by means of”.
“In case you can keep out of bother, keep out of the gravel, in the long run that’s the goal right here,” he advised Motorsport.com.
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“If you may make it to the final two hours with none injury in your automotive, you deserve a trophy for that alone!”
“Generally it’s important to take dangers,” stated Rast, “which generally is an excessive amount of and also you contact a GT automotive after which it spins off the monitor or sticks within the gravel and there’s a full-course yellow. I count on extra digital security vehicles, we count on a bit extra chaos. It’s going to be difficult.”
Two-way avenue
This verdict is shared by GT3 drivers. TF Sport Corvette’s second follow pacesetter Charlie Eastwood identified that the stop-start nature of the circuit means shedding a place right into a nook and being held up by a Hypercar that’s unable to sort out the kerbs with the identical vigour will probably be significantly expensive. As such, compliance from the GT3 drivers can’t be assumed into the braking zones.
“In case you get on prime of [traffic management] it’s price a lot extra lap time,” he advised Motorsport.com. “It was as difficult as I anticipated [in practice]. A few occasions into the Flip 14-15 tight chicane [Variante Alta], I’d go to defend they usually’re making an attempt to ship it across the exterior on the brakes.
“The writing is on the wall that it’s going to be a super-tough race. And never just for the GTs, it’s in all probability even tougher and extra time-consuming for the Hypercar, but it surely makes it really very fascinating.”
“The braking factors for the GT3s and the Hypercars are pretty related,” mirrored Eastwood’s BMW rival Augusto Farfus.
“In fact, the strategy velocity is far larger and it may be very tough for them. They may use us as a possibility to achieve locations doubtlessly on their competitors and we will use them as properly to achieve locations on our competitors.
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“Particularly in these phases the place there will probably be a prepare of Hypercars coming by, that’s the time the place they may need to be opportunistic towards their very own competitors, it is a time after we might be additionally opportunistic. Due to this fact, the prospect for contact, the prospect for incidents will get larger.
“It’s not going to be a straightforward race right here, particularly for the monitor structure.”
Appropriate for WEC?
Opinions on the monitor’s suitability for the WEC are combined. Talking previous to follow on Thursday, Peugeot driver Paul di Resta advised Motorsport.com: “I don’t suppose it fits the present vehicles, the steadiness of delta between the 2 totally different lessons just isn’t that massive. I feel it’s too small.
“We needs to be on larger tracks like Spa, like Le Mans, like Qatar was. There’s in all probability different tracks on the market that might have been higher.
“Perhaps it should show me mistaken on Sunday. However I simply suppose it’s unnecessarily tight for such a giant grid.”
However there may be loads of optimism too. Eastwood welcomed the brand new kerbs that he says “add much more character” to the monitor, whereas Imola race debutant Alex Lynn was effusive in his reward too.
The Cadillac driver stated: “It is mint, I prefer it. It is good to be at a monitor the place you possibly can really feel the presence of the followers, the tifosi. It is an awesome, old-school circuit. It will likely be powerful in visitors, however that simply provides a little bit of spice.”
#2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Sequence.R: Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn
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“It’s good to have a little bit of a combination, I feel we can not go to the brand new period of parking heaps each weekend both,” reasoned Vanthoor. “That is one thing fully totally different and really old-school, a unique strategy.
“Ultimately it’s the identical situation for all of us. The one who will get out of that state of affairs greatest may have the benefit.”