2015 - LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX A RACE ENGINEER'S PERSPECTIVE
Rick Mayer, race engineer of the Risi Competizione No. 62 Ferrari 458 Italia team, takes a look ahead at the upcoming Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase at the Long Beach Street Course in Long Beach, California, April 17 - 18, 2015.
Piloting the Risi Competizione Ferrari for the Long Beach Grand Prix include Pierre Kaffer (Germany) and Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy).
Risi Competizione race engineer, Rick Mayer
General: The Long Beach entry list has 18 cars, including eight very competitive GTLM entries from four manufacturers. This will be the smallest field we've had here and likely the smallest of any race year. The absence of the Pro-Am classes should make this short 100-minute race very exciting to watch and possibly caution- free by removing a large Am driver variable. This will be the first event this year where the GTLMs will be the slowest class; overtaking will likely only involve class-on-class action. It also puts a higher premium on a strong qualifying position.
GTLM Competition: The number 3 Corvette won here last year but the BMWs were also strong. This year we will have many cars with balance-of-performance changes from last year, shuffling up the hierarchy. The BMWs generate a lot of low speed grip and are always fast here. This year the BMWs have a larger air restrictor, making them even faster at this type of track. The Corvettes were fast here last year with the No.3 car winning and the No. 4 car having fastest race lap; they have only gotten faster. The Porsches currently have the best balance-of-performance in GTLM. The current rules give the Porsche the best power and most downforce. Adding to this, their inherent rear weight bias makes them one of the top favorites for this type of track. The Falken Porsche could win here. Falken makes a very competitive street soft tire and the Falken team knows how to use it. The Ferrari, on the other hand, has had great pace on occasion here but not in the recent past. The Ferrari's balance-of-performance (weight, air restrictor and down force) within GTLM is not as strong as others for this type of track. It takes many things together to be quick and win at Long Beach so we wouldn't count anyone out.
The Track: The Long Beach circuit is passenger car filled most of the year. Cars, trucks and buses idle at the traffic lights 51 weeks a year and drop fluid (oil, fuel and antifreeze) on the pavement, creating a low grip surface. The crowning of the road leads to some off camber corners, upsetting the balance typically mid-corner out. The track is bumpy, in a washboard fashion, quite different than Sebring. The track will be really dirty and cold for our 'track cleaning' 7:30 a.m. first session. Like most temporary circuits, grip changes with each session and you really only start seeing a partial picture of what the car is doing at the end of the session, after the track has cleaned up and some rubber has gone down on the surface. This track's tendency is to move toward under-steer for the race. How much is the question? The front straight is slightly curved but is full throttle with a very high top speed. A good exit off the 40 mph hairpin is essential for overtaking into Turn 1. There are very few passing opportunities here. Qualifying position is super important as is great pit work.
Setup: All the GTLM competitors have been here at least once before, so I suspect all of them, including our Ferrari, to roll off the truck with a good base dry setup to start practice. The car needs good power down, particularly off the hairpin, to either pass in braking into Turn 1 or to keep from getting passed. All the corners are slow, so it's brake, turn-in and back to full throttle quickly. While some apex curbs are usable, some you have to stay off of, as they are large bolted down temporary curbs. The car needs some change of direction stability in the last section leading up to the hairpin and around the fountain, so you can't run too soft of a setup. You need good brakes but you don't trail brake into the corners here as much as other race tracks so rear stability under braking is not 'as big' a concern. Reducing the low speed under-steer coming off the brakes to the apex and having good traction and corner exit (without a lot of understeer) are keys to quick laps as all the corners are all essentially short duration.
The Race: It's only 100 minutes. This year there is no minimum driver time in the Pro classes; if there's any caution everyone will likely change drivers. One driver could essentially do the entire race. The fuel will be tight as the fuel tanks have gotten smaller and we cannot run much more than half a race on a full tank of VP fuel. The first stint will be shorter due to fuel used for the reconnaissance lap and pace laps. A timed fuel fill and a driver's change will be done on the one and only stop. That's if it's green all the way, and if that's the strategy you choose. The biggest changes from recent previously run Long Beach races is the absence of a slower class and no Pro-Am content. This will make the race cleaner; possibly, taking away the use of traffic for an advantage to stay ahead or to setup a pass. The change may seem subtle but it will have a larger affect on how the race plays out, and pit strategies, more than other tracks and class mixes. If managed correctly, the two car teams could have an advantage by being able to split their strategies in yellow situations or even under a full green flag race. They can hedge their bets, it seems, when the strategy call isn't obvious.
The Ferrari should be quick here; Risi Competizione has won this race in class in years past. We need a good, solid and clean run to continue our podium run from Sebring.
Two practice sessions get underway before qualifying, Friday April 17. The 100-minute race starts Saturday, April 18 at 4:05 p.m. PDT (7:05p.m. EDT).Tune-In Information: The television broadcast schedule in the U.S. features the The Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase at Long Beach Saturday, April 19 (all times EDT), 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. on FOX Sports 1. Live coverage of the event can be seen on IMSA.com from 7:05 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.Live timing and scoring is available for all on-track sessions at IMSA.com and the IMSA Smartphone app.
