Four Hours of Heat, Strategy and Survival at Imola

This weekend the European Le Mans Series returned to Imola. While there was a lot of action on track during the whole 4 hour race, the ability to manage your tires and staying out of traffic were the things that separated the winners from the rest.

(Image credit to ELMS)

Heat Makes Imola a Challenge

During the first hour, drivers were struggling with the heat. The high track temperature caused the tires to overheat and wear faster which reduced grip, making the cars more difficult to control during the longer stints. A lot of drivers ran wide or locked up under braking, which caused them to end up in the gravel as the circuit became more slippery because of the rubber that got off the tires.

(Image credit to ELMS)

Strategy Is The Key In The Heat 

 As the race started to get more into a rhythm and the pack started to spread out, teams started to switch their focus on strategy instead of only outright pace. Every call became important, with engineers having to decide when to bring in their drivers for a pit stop to avoid losing too much time in traffic.

The race stayed very close during the whole afternoon, with multiple teams taking the lead as we saw different strategies. We also saw a lot of Full Course Yellows which shook up the order, helping those who timed their stops well, while punishing the drivers who just visited the pits.

Pressure Until The Checkered Flag

With the final hour getting closer, the fight for the overall win got more intense. The leading cars stayed within attack distance from each other, but with the degrading tires meant every little mistake could lose you the lead. Multi-class traffic was also another challenge, because of the traffic the LMP2 drivers were forced to drive their way through LMP3 and LMGT3 cars while also defending their rivals behind them.

Despite the pressure during the last hour, car number #29 was the one who kept their composure, and avoided any mistakes that caught out several other competitors as the grip was getting less in the afternoon heat.

(Image credit to ELMS)

Results Top 10 Overall 

1. #29 Forestier Racing By Panis (LMP2)  

2. #22 United Autosports (LMP2)

3. #25 Algarve Pro Racing (LMP2)

4. #18 IDEC Sport (LMP2)

5. #7 Vector Sport (LMP2 Pro/Am)                

6. #20 Algarve Pro Racing (LMP2 Pro/Am)                   

7. #21 United Autosports (LMP2 Pro/Am)

8. #24 Nielsen Racing (LMP2)                       

9. #19 Rossa Racing by Virage (LMP2 Pro/Am)                    

10. #83 AF Corse (LMP2 Pro/Am)                

With the 4 hours of Imola done, the ELMS is now headed to Spa-Francorchamps where the race will be taking place from the 21th of August until the 23th of August. The Belgian circuit will give us other challenges and a complete different layout compared to Imola, as half of the season is finished and the championship battle heading up, the teams will start preparing for another four-hour race.

Article Written by Zoë Wokke