Porsche Team followed up its Le Mans 24 Hours victory
in June with a one-two finish after a dramatic race at the 2015 6 Hours of Nürburgring
August 30. The N°18 Porsche 919 Hybrid overcame three Stop&Go penalties (of
five, thirty and sixty seconds), for excessive fuel consumption, to steal
second place from Audi Sport thanks, in part, to the tyre strategy that was adopted
for Switzerland’s Neel Jani on Lap 143.
The weekend’s competition got off to a solid start for
Porsche Team when it secured the first two places on the grid in Saturday’s qualifying,
with the N°18 Porsche 919 Hybrid (Dumas/Jani/Lieb) claiming pole ahead of the N°17
sister car (Bernhard/Webber/Hartley). Audi Sport Team Joest, which had topped
Friday’s two free practice sessions, had to settle for the third- and
fourth-best qualifying times with the N°8 R18 e-tron quattro (Di
Grassi/Duval/Jarvis) and the similar N°7 prototype (Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer).
Sunday’s 6 Hours of Nürburgring started at the stroke
of 1pm in sunny weather with the track temperature standing at 37°C. The cars
of Michelin’s partners were fitted with ‘high temperature’ tyres.
After the rolling start, there were no changes to the order
established in qualifying once the Porsche Team had cars succeeded in shrugging
off the Audis’ early threats. The gap gradually widened until Timo Bernhard
(N°17 Porsche) picked up damage to a front aerodynamic appendix. On Lap 24, the
car pitted for its first refuelling halt which was brought forward to change
the car’s nose. Audi Sport took advantage of the stop to appear in second place
with its N°8 car. The N°7 R18 e-tron quattro, in the hands of Marcel Fässler, stopped
at the same time but was nine seconds quicker out of the pits.
The N°18 Porsche 919 Hybrid continued to pull clear at
the front while the sister car, now in the hands of Mark Webber, started to
challenge the N°7 Audi to recover second place. After applying pressure, the
Australian passed Marcel Fässler on Lap 39. At around the one-hour mark, the
two Porsches were back in front, split by almost 40 seconds.
At 2:30pm, Race Control announced a five-second
Stop and Go penalty for the N°18 car for excessive fuel consumption.
Marc Lieb stopped for the punishment on Lap 54 and, as
he re-joined, found himself battling with Mark Webber (N°17) for the lead. The
German held on to his advantage but the gap was down to almost zero.
The order then stabilised. As Audi dropped further and
further back, it looked as though Porsche was on target for a straightforward one-two
finish when the N°18 Porsche was handed another Stop&Go penalty – this time
for 30 seconds. When Romain Dumas complied, the lead was snapped up by Brendon
Hartley who was driving the N°17 Porsche at that moment. This time, the N°18 car
re-joined in fourth spot, which meant that both Audis were now on the
provisional podium after two hours of racing.
Dumas did his best to make up the lost ground but, at
3:23pm, the car was dealt another Stop&Go penalty, this time requiring it
to remain at a standstill for a whole minute!
With the N°18 Porsche 919 Hybrid running back in
fourth spot, it looked as though the Stuttgart firm’s chances of a one-two result
had evaporated, but the N°18 car continued to claw back time and home in on the
N°8 Audi R18 e-tron quattro. It took advantage of a long stop for the latter (1m
23s)to squeeze past into third place.
At this stage, Neel Jani was in the N°18 Porsche and
had Benoît Tréluyer (N°7 Audi) in his sights, albeit some 35 seconds ahead.
A ‘Full Course Yellow’ on Lap 143 enabled the Swiss
driver to get closer to its prey while the N°17 Porsche continued to lap with a
comfortable lead. When the two Audis stopped for fuel and fresh tyres again –
an operation that cost them more than a minute – Janidecided to take advantage
of the consistency of his Michelin tyres, which had already completed 14 laps, to
take fuel only and re-join on the same rubber. His stop lasted only 36seconds,
which meant that the N°7 Audi was now only seven seconds ahead…
Jani then homed in on the N°7 Audi, but the N°8 R18
e-tron quattro was only three seconds behind him and, with an hour remaining,
the three cars engaged in a thrilling scrap.
Around 175 laps into the race, the N°8 Porsche 919
Hybrid managed to appear three seconds clear of the two Audis thanks to a
quicker final pit stop than that of the two Audis.
After that, Porsche was able to cruise home to a
one-two finish, followed over the line by the two Audi Sport Team Joest cars.
Once again, the contribution of Michelin’s tyres helped to ensure an exciting
show thanks to their longevity and reliability.
“It’s the second time this year that tyre strategy has
played a decisive role in the outcome of a round of the FIA WEC,” notes Jérôme Mondain, manager of Michelin’s
world endurance programme. “In May, Audi Sport banked on the longevity of its
Michelin tyres to run double stints at Spa-Francorchamps before Porsche decided
to use the same tactic. That played a big part in the victory of the N°17 Audi R18
e-tron quattro in Belgium. Today, it was Porsche who made the most of its tyres
to win the inaugural 6 Hours of Nürburgring. We are particularly pleased with
this move because it highlighted the reliability of our tyres around what is a
highly demanding track which has a tendency to cause the cars to understeer.”
A one-two
for the Porsche 911 RSRs in LM GTE Proand success for Ferrari in LM GTE Am
Porsche also dominated the LM GTE Pro class at the 6
Hours of Nürburgring where the N°91 and N°92911 RSRs crossed the line ahead of
AF Corse’s N°71 Ferrari 458 GTE. The N°91 car (Lietz/Christensen) emerged in
front shortly after the N°51 Ferrari of (Bruni/Vilander) was delayed by an
early technical problem, but it was only during the fourth hour that the N°92 911
RSR (Pilet/Makowiecki) managed to find a way past the N°71 Ferrari
(Rigon/Calado).
The Italian make scooped the top prize in the LM GTE
Am class, however, thanks to the N°72 Ferrari of Andrea Bertolini and his
team-mates who took the lead thanks to the Italian’s spectacular move past Paul
Dalla Lana in the N°98 Aston Martin Vantage GTE. Perrodo, Collard and Aguas (N°83
Ferrari 458) came third in the class.
Michelin’s tyres for the 2015 6 Hours of Nürburgring,by
class
LM P1 prototypes(31/71-18)
Dry weather:
-
SOFT ‘HIGH TEMPERATURE’: track temperature between 20°C and 40°C
-
SOFT ‘LOW TEMPERATURE’: track temperature <20 span="">
Damp or drying conditions:
-
MICHELIN Hybride
The MICHELIN Hybride has replaced Michelin’s
intermediate tyres since 2012. Although it resembles a slick (no tread
pattern), its revolutionary compound permits its use in wet and drying
conditions.
Rain:
-
WET
-
Full WET
The difference between Wet and Full Wet tyres is the
grooving ratio of their respective tread patterns. Their mission is to clear the
film of surface water to provide grip by permitting contact between the rubber
and track surface, even in heavy rain. Their exceptional clearance capacity can
reach 120 litres of water every second at high speeds.
Audi Sport, Porsche Motorsport and Toyota Racing all
have bespoke tyres that meet the needs of the specific demands made by their
respective cars.
Number of
tyres authorised for the 6 Hours of Nürburgring: 8 sets for the race
LM GTE Pro and Am (front: 30/68-18 / rear: 31/71-18)
Dry weather:
-
MEDIUM: track temperature between 18°C and 40°C
-
MEDIUM ‘LOW TEMPERATURES’: track temperature <18 span="">
Wet conditions:
-
WET
-
Full WET
Number of
tyres authorised for the 6 Hours of Nürburgring: 6 sets for the race
Total number of tyres available for Michelin’s 23 partners: 2,400
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