The 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas, Austin, USA, the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), saw Dunlop teams improve the victory statistics. Aston Martin Racing took a second consecutive LM GTE Pro class win and fifth podium of the year while Signatech Alpine made it four wins out of six in a race that was testing for all the teams with the high heat and humidity.
The teams opted for the medium compound tyre throughout which double stinted despite contending with track temperatures of 50 degrees centigrade.
LMP1 Private Teams
The Imperatori, Kraihamer and Tuscher Rebellion R-One led the privateer LMP1 class from the start, finishing the race in seventh overall with the ByKolles CLM in 11th having lost laps to a mechanical issue.
LMP2
The #36 Signatech Alpine started from pole position but dropped back to second initially, taking the lead after 10 laps. From then the French team were unchallenged, leading the remaining 162 laps of the race and finishing a full lap ahead of the rest. The win is the team’s fourth from the six 2016 races and extends their lead in the championship. G-Drive Racing (Oreca) began from the back of the grid after a qualifying issue but rapidly regained lost ground, from 31st to 15th in the first 20 minutes of the race. By the end of the first hour the team was an impressive third in class and up to second just 45 minutes later, where they remained to the end. Manor Racing was initially in third, dropping to fourth after a battle with the 6 Hours of Mexico winners RGR Sport who claimed the final podium spot, their fifth of the year to date in their Ligier. In the final laps it was the superior grip from the Dunlop tyres that helped Mediani in the BR01 to pass Dalziel’s ESM Ligier for fourth place.
LMGTE
Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen took their first win in the #95 Vantage, the second consecutive win for Aston Martin in the GTE Pro class and fifth podium of the season. The pair of Aston Martin Vantages led every lap of the race between them, and leads have now been extended in the manufacturers’ and teams’ championships. In the driver’s standings, Thiim and Sørensen have taken the lead from team-mate Darren Turner.
Mike McGregor, Dunlop Manager Testing & Track Support : « The conditions were very extreme for the drivers and everyone did well to race to the usual level with the added challenge of air temperatures over 35 degrees. Rebellion had another good race and we’re delighted that the #95 Aston Martin took a win it shows that the tyres work well for drivers across the squad and suit different driving styles. In LMP2 we had great racing yet again – Signatech didn’t put a foot wrong and deserved the win. »
Dunlop WEC 2016 Tyres
LMP1 Confidential tyre range full range for all conditions
Dunlop’s return to LMP1 competition for the first time since 2012
Tyres permitted per 6 hour event: 10 sets plus two single tyres
LMP2 Set specification (soft, medium, medium-plus, intermediate, wet)
Open tyre competition
Two out of three dry specifications nominated per event
Tyres permitted per 6 hour event: 7 sets plus two single tyres
LMGTE Pro Confidential tyre range full range for all conditions
Bespoke product for Aston Martin Racing
Tyres permitted per 6 hour event: 10 sets plus two single tyres
LMGTE Am Set specification (soft, medium, medium-plus, intermediate, wet)
Specification for full season will be current LMGTE Pro specification
Tyres permitted per 6 hour event: 10 sets plus two single tyres
James Bailey,