Dunlop 17th consecutive WEC LMP2 clean sweep at 6H of Fuji

Alpine Signatech Matmut © DR

– Jackie Chan DC Racing Duo takes second consecutive 1-2

– Signatech Alpine holds championship lead

– Dunlop intermediate tyre key to Dunlop top-4 result

 Tyre choice proved key in the LMP2 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, with the Dunlop intermediate tyre bringing a key advantage in the opening stage of the 6 Hours of Fuji race.

Jackie Chan DC Racing dominated the class, taking a second consecutive 1-2 finish.

Rain in the morning meant a start under the safety car, as teams had not experienced wet conditions in pre-race testing or qualifying. As the race progressed, the track started to dry with the Dunlop intermediate tyre providing a two-to-three second per lap advantage in the open-tyre competition class. The race then became a battle between the Dunlop runners, with the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca taking the flag after leading 189 of the 217 race laps. The sister #38 car crossed the line on the same lap, 26 seconds behind, having chosen a similar race strategy, with well-timed switches to slicks proving key to the result. The pair repeated the team’s 1-2 finish from the last race at Silverstone, albeit with the #37 squad on the top-step of the podium. The championship leading Signatech Alpine Matmut team finished third, having taken an additional stop, and retains the title lead.

The championship battle is closer than ever, with the top-three, all Dunlop-shod, now separated by just one point and increasing the gap to the rest.

 Mike McGregor, Dunlop Manager Testing & Track Support : « It doesn’t get much closer in a championship than this! It’s great to have three of our teams separated by just one point this far into the Super Season after 42 hours of racing. It was a shame that the teams didn’t get to test in the wet before facing rain at the start of the race, but they worked well with our engineers to find a set-up that would work. The intermediate tyre proved itself and made all the difference and gave our teams a great advantage from the start. »     

The next round of the FIA World Endurance Championship is the 6 Hours of Shanghai on 18th November.    

2018 FIA World Endurance Championship Statistics (Bold = Dunlop)
Top 3 LMP2 Standings :
1: #36 – Signatech Alpine Matmut (Alpine), 87 points ; 2: #38 – Jackie Chan DC Racing (Oreca) , 86 pts ; 3. #37 – Jackie Chan DC Racing (Oreca), 86 pts…

2018 LMP2 race winners: #38 – Jackie Chan DC Racing (Oreca – Spa, Silverstone) ; #36 – Signatech Alpine Matmut (Oreca – Le Mans) ; #37 – Jackie Chan DC Racing (Oreca – Fuji).

James Bailey,

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