A Race Engineers' Perspective
Rick Mayer, race engineer of the Risi Competizione No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTLM team, gives us a preview of this year's Continental Road Race Showcase at Road America race, August 7, 2016, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc.Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) and Toni Vilander (Finland) will drive the Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTLM at Round 9 for the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series, Round 8 for the GTLM class. They recently finished fourth at the Northeast Grand Prix Prix race at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn.General: Car count will not play as big a role here with the longer 4.05-mile Road America circuit. The cars will spread out and there's room to get by slower class cars on the long straights. This will be another fierce GTLM battle with the Porsches, BMWs, Fords and Corvettes -- all having good top speed, which is key here with the numerous fast sections. The latest IMSA BoP (Balance of Performance) adjustment puts the Ferrari in the best comparative power situation it's been in all year. Top speed is critical here; we'll see how the latest change affects our relative top speed.The Track: Road America is a long, natural terrain circuit with a more traditional, European-style layout. The track is mostly smooth, with some small bumps through the centers of some of the corners; this can change depending on the severity of the previous winter. This circuit is primarily a series of single corners without tricky or technical combinations, with usable but aggressive curbs which all GT cars will use. This is one of the higher top speed tracks. We'll go to, and we'll see, 160mph (260kph) three times per lap.
Risi Competizione race engineer, Rick Mayer, reviews engineering points with FOX TV's Jamie HoweSetup: Long straights mean relatively low downforce to maximize top speed; you don't want to lose position on the straights. This track is typically an understeer track, especially the long 'Carousel' corner. We'll adjust the springs and aero balance to help this. The track prefers a stiffer platform but the curbing requires a softer car so we'll need to find the balance. Dampers will come into play - you need to get through the mid corner bumps without compromising the platform, and remove enough high speed damping to suit running the curbing. Road America isn't hard on brakes, but the long straights cool the front tires so you have to be careful of brake lock-ups and flat-spotting tires in the braking zones. With the lap time being long here (typically around 2:04) you don't get many laps in a one-hour practice session - especially if there are any interruptions - so you need to hone in on the setup in very few laps. Keeping the drivers focused on setup and not lap time will be the challenge. Our drivers never want to be second, even to their co-driver!The Race: There usually are a few full course yellows, even with a long track and reasonable runoff area. The track is relatively hard on tires and weather can always play a role here; rain is common this time of year. Quick pit work is always important, and with the long lap you can pit under green and not go down a lap. Quick pit work on green flag stops has made the difference in past races here as it is difficult to pass within GTLM. This will be another thriller of a GT race for the fans. We won here two years ago and pit work played heavy in that win. Let's hope we can continue the string of being competitive and put the Ferrari on the podium.
Tune-In Information:The Continental Road Race Showcase race is available live in the U.S. on Sunday, August 7 on FOX Sports 1 and on the FOX Sports GO! mobile app from 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. EDT. The race will be streamed live in its entirety for international audiences on IMSA.tv and the IMSA Mobile App.
