MEDIA INFORMATION Shanghai, October 30, 2015
2015 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) 6 Hours of Shanghai
MICHELIN’s endurance racing tyres face a mixed bag of weather at the 2015 WEC’s penultimate clash
The penultimate round of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship takes teams to China for the 6 Hours of Shanghai. The race could well settle several Teams’, Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles in favour of the season’s fastest, most consistent and most efficient runners.
In LM P1, the crew of the N°17 Porsche 919 Hybrid (Bernhard/Webber/Hartley) currently tops the Drivers’ standings with a score of 129 points, but the N°7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro’s trio (Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer) is only one point behind.
In the fight for the 2015 Manufacturers’ crown, Porsche (264 points) is in front, chased by Audi (211).
The Endurance World Cup for LM GTE Pro manufacturers is provisionally topped by Ferrari and Porsche, with the Italian make sitting on a capital of 225 points prior to the 6 Hours of Shanghai, which is a cushion of 13 points over the Stuttgart firm. The Drivers’ title chase in the class is led by Lietz (N°91 Porsche 911 RSR, 110 points) who is chased by Rigon and Calado (N°71 Ferrari 458 Italia, 103 points).
In LM GTE Am, SMP Racing’s Basov/Bertolini/Shaytar (N°72 Ferrari 458 Italia, 140 points) enjoys a 29-point advantage over the crew of AF Corse’s N°83 Ferrari 458 Italia (Collard/Perrodo/Aguas, 111 points).
The challenge of Shanghai for tyres
Designed by the architect Hermann Tilke (like the circuits at Sepang, Malaysia, and in Bahrain), the Shanghai International Circuit was built in 2004. The 5.451km track stands out through its combination of short straights and tight turns. It is fast and technically demanding, with repeated hard braking and hard re-acceleration out of the corners. Meanwhile, its surface is aggressive and the temperature can easily exceed 30°C in clear weather at this time of the year. As a consequence, the tyres are subjected to significant constraints for which Michelin has produced a range of solutions.
The weather forecast for this year’s 6 Hours of Shanghai is quite poor, with rain expected for Friday’s free practice and the race on Sunday, but qualifying is likely to be overcast but dry. Such a mix promises to make life complex for the teams since they will have trouble fine-tuning their set-ups and tyre choices for Sunday’s six-hour race.
MEDIA INFORMATION Shanghai, October 30, 2015
Michelin’s tyres for the 2015 6 Hours of Shanghai, by class:
LM P1 prototypes (31/71-18)
Dry ground: - SOFT ‘HIGH TEMPERATURE’ slicks - SOFT ‘HOT WEATHER+’ slicks
Damp or drying conditions: - MICHELIN Hybrid
Rain: - WETs - Full WETs
Allocation for Shanghai (race): 8 sets
LM P2 prototypes (front: 30/65-18 / rear: 31/71-18)
Dry ground: - MEDIUM slicks: between 35°C and 15°C - MEDIUM+ slicks: track temperature > 30°C
Rain: - WETs - Full WETs
Allocation for Shanghai (race): 4 sets
LM GTE Pro and Am (front: 30/68-18 / rear: 31/71-18)
Dry ground: - MEDIUM slicks: between 40°C and 18°C - MEDIUM ‘LOW TEMPERATURE’ slicks: track temperature < 25°C
Wet ground: - WETs - Full WETs
Allocation for Shanghai (race): 6 sets
Total number of tyres available in Shanghai for Michelin’s 23 partners: 2,300