Method E might have taken a brief break in its calendar, however the previous couple of weeks have nonetheless been very busy for the Franco-American DS Penske group.
First, there was the return from Shanghai and the debriefing classes, to analyse the performances recorded and guarantee their sustainability. Then, the group moved on to the Gen 3 EVO exams on the Mallorca circuit (Spain), to organize for subsequent season.
For Jean-Éric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne, who’re additionally competing with Peugeot within the World Endurance Championship, there was the Le Mans 24 Hours on 15 and 16 June, earlier than it was again to the world of Method E to organize for the assembly in Portland.
On this everlasting circuit within the north-west of the US, Method E goes from one to 2 races this yr. The venue hosted IndyCar till 2010 and nonetheless hosts NASCAR, with the latest occasion going down in Could.
With its 12 bends and just a little over 3.3 km in size, the Portland circuit is taken into account by drivers to be one of the troublesome by way of vitality technique.
Portland is a circuit aside
As we noticed final season, very like São Paulo (Brazil), this monitor is the vector of excessive vitality consumption. It’s a type of circuits the place main the race could be detrimental to the standings, and the place it’s important to undertake a method of alternating on the entrance.
The chance is that if you’re within the pack, there’s loads of contact.
Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Penske, Stoffel Vandoorne, DS Penske
Picture by: DPPI
“It is essentially the most difficult circuit we have come throughout from an vitality standpoint,” mentioned Vergne.
“Within the simulator, we would by no means labored on a monitor the place you needed to keep to date again within the pack to preserve vitality. With the very excessive aerodynamic drag of those electrical single-seaters, you possibly can simply save 20 p.c of vitality on every lap by staying behind the chief, and it is clear that aside from pole place there is not any level in being first till the previous couple of laps.”
What is going to occur this yr, when the occasion is a double-header? The suspense stays, nevertheless it needs to be seen as a double alternative to attain huge factors for essentially the most skilled groups, of which DS Penske is one.