Richard Lietz needed to grunt when he discovered the acquainted merchandise of clothes on the Goodyear fan stand on the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “The racing overalls would go well with me now,” says the Porsche driver, who celebrated a category win on this planet’s most well-known automotive race in 2022 carrying precisely this racing go well with and the accompanying helmet. It was Lietz’s fourth victory within the long-distance traditional in France after 2007, 2010, 2013 and simply two years in the past.
When the 40-year-old talks about Le Mans, he is aware of what he is speaking about: This weekend, Lietz is competing in his 18th 24 hour race on the Sarthe he is racing in racing automobiles Porsche since 2007. This yr the Austrian is preventing within the not too long ago launched LMGT3 class within the #91 Manthey-Porsche 911 GT3 R and is taking over 22 rivals from eight totally different automotive producers.
“Good recognition for an typically underappreciated efficiency”
Lietz has already achieved his first private success within the Endurance World Championship, together with the 24 Hours of Le Mans: On the earlier WEC race in Spa-Francorchamps, he received the ‘Wingfoot Award’, supplied by Goodyear since 2023. The unique tire provider for the LMGT3 and LMP2 classes acknowledges drivers who exhibit constant efficiency and sturdiness all through their lifetime.
On the 24 hours of Le Mans, the award is calculated primarily based on one of the best triple time for every LMP2 driver and one of the best double time for LMGT3 racers. Solely laps on clear monitor are counted. Full Course Yellow and Security Automotive phases in addition to Sluggish Zones will not be included within the calculation. Inlaps and outlaps are additionally not taken into consideration.
“It is a good recognition of an achievement that is essential in long-distance racing, however is usually undervalued as a result of folks look extra at particular person instances right this moment,” explains Wingfoot winner Lietz in an interview with Motorsport-Magazin.com. “It is actually concerning the larger image. In the end, the objective is to drive constantly quick.”
For Lietz and his Manthey staff, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the spotlight of the yr – this additionally applies to Goodyear, which might look again on 49 total victories on this planet’s largest race in its greater than 125-year firm historical past. . Along with the 23 GT3 autos, there will probably be 16 LMP2 automobiles with Goodyear tires in the beginning, which signifies that a complete of 39 racing automobiles – round two thirds of your entire beginning subject – are geared up with the corporate’s conventional merchandise.
Le Mans Problem – Outlaps on unheated tyres
A particular characteristic this yr is the obligatory waiver of tire heaters for the primary time. All individuals end their race after a pit cease on unheated tires – a troublesome process that requires the driving force’s expertise to maintain his automobile on the street and get the tires into one of the best working window as rapidly as attainable. “The nice and cozy-up is nice,” says Lietz. “Out of the field you’ve got a fairly good grip from Tertre Rouge onwards, it is a very fast warm-up course of.”
This yr, the drivers are within the FIA bronze class, whose use is remitted by the rules for every staff, as a reference to the drivability of the tires. Lietz about his colleague Yasser Shahin: “Our bronze driver may be very completely happy and says that that is one of the best buyer sports activities tire he has ever had. It can be crucial for everybody that the purchasers are completely happy. So you must say that Goodyear did a great job right here.”
Lietz: “Neither a driver nor an engineer will ever be completely happy”
In response to Lietz, the 6-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, in mid-Could, the ‘costume rehearsal’ earlier than Le Mans, confirmed a really excessive tire put on, to which the drivers and groups needed to adapt their methods accordingly. “However you simply must develop a tire that works at any temperature, on all roads on this planet, with out tire heating blankets, and if attainable with none tire harm and which each and every producer needs to be pleased with,” he lists Lietz and urges. “Nicely, it is not straightforward for us! However you already know what: A racing driver won’t ever be completely happy, nor an engineer completely happy, as a result of that might imply you are not on the restrict.”
Marco Sörensen, as Lietz is assessed as a platinum driver by the FIA, can affirm this. “You’ll be able to drive on the tires for a very long time, that is a great characteristic,” says the works Aston Martin driver and three-time WEC world champion Motorsport-Magazin.com. “Right here at Le Mans you may virtually go full throttle all through the double durations. The tires have been fairly constant on the totally different tracks now we have pushed up to now. Spa was a bit tough, however on programs with ‘low step’ ( low consumption) they labored very effectively.”
Goodyear delivers 7,250 tires to the 24 hours of Le Mans
Round 7,250 tires had been made at Goodyear’s tire manufacturing in Hanau and shipped to Le Mans. Greater than 20 vehicles had been concerned in delivering the tires, establishing the meeting areas and feeding over 100 crew throughout race week.
The Goodyear Becoming Space is a central characteristic of the Le Mans grandstand. Right here, used racing tires are changed with new tires with out stopping to take part within the subsequent stage of the race. Servicing 1000’s of tires over the weekend requires correct information monitoring, provide administration and teamwork. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) expertise is used to trace tire utilization over a weekend. This information can also be handed on to race administration to make sure that all individuals adjust to the rules.