– Dunlop teams set to defend LMP2 championship top-3 in standings
The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) continues with the 6 Hours of Fuji, the completion of which will mark the 2018/19 Super Season mid-point.
Fuji International Speedway track is located at Oyama, north of Tokyo. Set-up is a compromise at this track, with a very long straight as well as tight and twisty sections, combined with an abrasive surface. The typically unpredictable weather conditions can also be an additional factor in determining the winner.
The LMP2 class is the only category featuring open tyre competition for the event, with four of the seven LMP2 entries choosing to compete on Dunlop tyres. For this race Dunlop is again nominating the 2018/19 ‘A’ and ‘B’ specifications.
After three rounds, including the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans, Dunlop teams occupy the top-three positions in the LMP2 standings. Signatech Alpine Matmut is ahead of the #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca by just four points, with the sister Jackie Chan car #37 only a further seven points behind. The highest non-Dunlop runner is 26 points behind the lead with a maximum of 26 points available in Japan for a win and pole position.
Mike McGregor, Dunlop Manager Testing & Track Support : « We should have a great race in Fuji; although Dunlop’s record is 52 out of 53 WEC LMP2 wins, and three consecutive podium clean sweeps, we’ve seen some very strong competition on track this season. Our teams need to anticipate a bit of everything at this circuit and our track support engineers will continue to work closely with our partners. It’s a challenge for everyone to optimise traction when there’s the contrasting set-up needs of a long straight and tight corner complexes. The last race saw the Jackie Chan DC Racing cars take a 1-2 with the championship leaders in second but at Fuji last year Signatech finished ahead of Jackie Chan – with second and third places – so this race could be pivotal in terms of the title as we head into the second half of the Super Season. »
The WEC 6 Hours of Fuji starts at 11:00 local time (3:00 GMT/4:00 CET) on Sunday 14th October.
2018 FIA World Endurance Championship Statistics (Bold = Dunlop)
Top 3 LMP2 Standings
1: Signatech Alpine Matmut (Alpine – 72 points),
2: #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing (Oreca – 68)
3: #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing (Oreca – 61)
2018 LMP2 race winners:
– #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing (Oreca – Spa, Silverstone)
– Signatech Alpine Matmut (Oreca – Le Mans)
2018 6 Hours of Fuji (Bold = Dunlop)
– LMP2 Winners: #31 Vaillante Rebellion (Oreca)
– Fastest LMP2 lap: Lapierre/Signatech Alpine Matmut – 1:45.588
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
James Bailey,