AMG switcheroo
It’s not just drivers that have changed at Iron Lynx and its Mercedes AMG LMGT3 programme this weekend.
With Claudio Schiavoni still recovering after suffering back pain in the lead up to the ELMS event last weekend, the team has opted to switch cars.
The #60 has been switched to the car used normally by the team in the ELMS. This is the car that Stephen and Brenton Grove will step into this weekend.
The #61, meanwhile, sees the first appearance in the WEC for full season ELMS Iron Lynx racer Martin Berry, replacing the now absolutely definitely retired * Christian Ried.
*Except Interlagos
Michelin choices reflect resurfaced Spa
Michelin will offer Soft and Medium compound tyres for the 18-car Hypercar grid this weekend.
Since the 2024 edition of the race, around half of the track has been resurfaced—approximately 3.5 km out of the total 7.004 km. This follows on from an earlier partial resurfacing in 2022.
“The resurfacing of a large part of the track is beneficial for lap times and overall performance,” said Pierre Alves, Endurance Program Manager at Michelin Motorsport.
“We were able to test in ‘extreme’ conditions and saw not only a clear improvement in lap times, but also better consistency from our tyres. To be certain of our choices, we tested all three of our compounds on track, and concluded that the Soft and Medium mixes would be best suited for the event, especially in cooler temperatures.
“Spa-Francorchamps, a circuit we know well, is the second fastest on the calendar after Le Mans (with average speeds between 198 and 200 km/h), and it causes significant tyre wear, particularly in sectors 2 and 3. The left rear tyre endures the highest load of the season (1.2 tons) during the compression at the bottom of the Eau Rouge Raidillon.
“Moreover, Spa is a very ‘energy-intensive’ track for tyres, with eight high-speed corners, as well as slow sections and long straights that cause heat loss. That’s why the Soft compound, which reaches operating temperature almost instantly, and the Medium compound, praised by all our partners for its versatility and lasting performance, will be ideal for this challenge. We couldn’t have hoped for better preparation ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
Michelin Pilot Sport Soft and Medium feature white sidewalls (Soft) and yellow sidewalls (Medium).
Goodyear celebrates the Blimp’s centenary
Goodyear is celebrating 100 years of its iconic Blimp here at Spa. The European-based Zeppelin Blimp will again be in attendance this weekend as part of an extensive European tour of motorsport and other mass-attendance events across the year.
In addition, after its launch at NASCAR’s Darlington race earlier this year, the first appearance of commemorative sidewalls on the LMGT3 cars comes here.
The same design will adorn the cars at Le Mans and the ELMS at Silverstone in the summer.
Hydrogen Village
The paddock at Spa Francorchamps will be hosting a ‘Hydrogen Village’ over the weekend with a 700 bar TotalEnergies mobile H2 station on-site that will refuel the Alpine Alpenglow and the Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris H2 Concept, before several on-track demonstrations.
Two slots are planned: Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 2:10 p.m. and Saturday from 12:20 p.m. to 12:35 p.m. After their zero-CO2 emission track laps, the cars will return to the village to be displayed for all to see.
DSC believes that the current plan is for both Pierre Fillon and Frederic Lequiein to pilot one of the machines during the weekend.
Current published plans are for a dedicated hydrogen prototype category for Le Mans and a small number of additional WEC races from 2028, with several sources suggesting that timeframe may move back a year or two.
Spa BoP published
The Balance of Performance tables for Hypercar and LMGT3 have been published for this weekend’s race. You can find them below:
Featured image courtesy of FIAWEC/DPPI
