Last weekend marked the start of the season of the North American Endurance Championship IMSA with the Great Classic of the 24 Hours of Daytona. Several French pilots were initially, notably Lilou Wadoux, the only tricolor woman from the event, whose Ferrari (GTD category) was unfortunately forced to abandon. On the other hand, in the Reine GTP Kevin Estre and Mathieu Jaminet category, on a Porsche 963 hired by the Porsche Penske Motorsport factory stable, were particularly distinguished on the third step of the podium.
The general victory also returned to the sister car, the Porsche 963 #6 piloted by Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor, in front of the Acura of Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist. It is the second time in a row that the German manufacturer has won this event, while Nick Tandy became the first pilot to have won the 4 major 24-hour world races: Le Mans, Spa-Francorchamp, Nürburgring, and therefore Daytona.
Sébastien Bourdais, the master of endurance
Installed in Florida for several years, Sébastien Bourdais has proven once again that it is one of the big names of endurance worldwide. This season, he joined Tower Motorsport, a stable that hires an Oreca 07-Gibson in the LMP2 category. These prototypes, although a little less efficient than GTPs due to the absence of hybrid technology, offer an excellent level of competitiveness. Associated with John Farano, Sebastián Álvarez and Job Van Uiter, Bourdais has demonstrated a perfect mastery to lead his team to victory in his category. Before the race, the French pilot had nevertheless tempered expectations with humility:
« Honestly, it's a beautiful little team “He had told us. “But I only drove with them here in Daytona, so I don't know them yet to set specific goals. We have encountered some difficulties, but we think we have found a solution. We will see what it gives this weekend. »»
The result is final: a brilliant victory, which gives great ambitions to Tower Motorsport for the rest of the season.
Tires, crucial weekend issue
Fresh weather conditions have placed tire management at the heart of the debates during the race. In IMSA, the teams have the right to use the tender (soft) gums that between 17h and 10 a.m. the next morning. Without preheating system of the bearing strip, the first turns in cold tires can be delicate.
On the side of Michelin, unique supplier and sponsor of the championship, the two mixtures made available to the teams were sifted to understand the different possible combinations.
“During the night it is true that the Soft gum has brought piloting comfort and a faster temperature rise” Indicates Philippe Tramond, technical director of Michelin Motorsport. “But the gain in time was quite limited between the two solutions. Because if the medium gum causes approximately 10 seconds to reach its ideal temperature, its performance over time saves a few seconds, especially at the end of the relay. In the end, I think that the overall gap between the two solutions does not exceed 5 seconds on each relay, especially since the teams were all able to double them and therefore keep hot gums longer. »»
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One could have imagined that stables try to keep the same tires for three relays, as is often the case on certain races, but the engineers of Michelin clearly advised against their partners.
“With the lifted turn which is addressed at high speed, the right rear tire must undergo very strong constraints, lateral and vertical” Continues Philippe Tramond. “Given the fact that the allowances made it possible to have enough tires dubbing only the relays, there was no point in taking risks. Especially since in IMSA we cannot change only one or two tires, as we can see in WEC. Here, when you go to the stand, you change the 4 tires or nothing. »»
Between the victory of Bourdais in LMP2 and the podium of Jaminet and Estre en GTP, we can say that France shone last weekend on the other side of the Atlantic. For Michelin it is also a very positive start to the season, because between the tests and the race the manufacturer Auvergne used 18,000 tires, the double that for the 24 hours of Le Mans. A good business for Michelin North America, but also for France since all the tires used in IMSA all come out of a single factory, that of Cataroux in Clermont-Ferrand (63).
The next round of the IMSA championship will take place in March, still in Florida. This time will be 12 hours of Sebring.
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To summarize
The Manceau pilot was brilliantly distinguished himself by winning the LMP2 category and winning 8ᵉ place in the general classification, in front of certain cars in the GTP category. Impressive by his mastery and his speed, Sébastien Bourdais confirms his reference status in the world of endurance.
