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For the Japanese Grand Prix at
the epic Suzuka circuit, Pirelli has nominated the medium, soft and
supersoft (with this specific combination already selected four times
already this season). This is to cope with the notoriously high-energy
demands of Suzuka, with long and sweeping corners such as 130R and Spoon. In
fact, the cars are almost constantly cornering at Suzuka, with a relentless
flow that makes the historic Japanese circuit one of the most-loved on the
entire calendar. One year ago, the all-time lap record was broken in
qualifying: will the benchmark come down even further this time as has often
already been seen this season?
THE CIRCUIT FROM A TYRE POINT OF VIEW
Although the tyre selection is nominally the same as last year, in reality
it’s a step softer as all the compounds are one step softer compared to
their 2017 equivalents.
The rhythm of the circuit, with its famous fast corners, means that Suzuka
is all about lateral forces, rather than traction and braking.
The weather is often unpredictable at this time of year, with frequent
rain: one of the factors that make track evolution quite hard to forecast.
Wear and degradation is traditionally high: some of the biggest energy
loads of the year are put through the tyres.
Teams tend to run high downforce, pushing down on the tyres, in order to
maximise grip. This means that the tyres are subjected to multi-directional
forces at the same time.
Last year, a one-stopper proved to be the winning strategy (partly
influenced by a safety car and virtual safety car: not uncommon in Japan). |
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MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR
RACING
“Suzuka features some of the highest energy loadings of the season and this
can lead to greater levels of wear and degradation than we normally see.
It’s also the only circuit in a figure of eight on the calendar, which means
that the tyre wear between the left and the right side is about even. A
one-stop strategy triumphed at Suzuka in 2017, but prior to that the trend
was mainly towards a two-stopper. It’s going to be interesting to see if
this year’s softer tyres – and even faster cars – produces a different set
of tactics. The teams will always look to do a one-stopper if possible, but
this of course has to be balanced against how much tyre management is needed
to achieve this. Depending also on the time lost for a pit stop, it could be
that a two-stopper is quicker.”
WHAT’S NEW?
Pirelli’s 2019 tyre development programme continues, with Renault running
at Suzuka for two days after the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Blancpain GT Series, exclusively supplied by Pirelli, concluded at
Barcelona last weekend, with Belgian Audi Club Team WRT and Raffaele
Marciello crowned champions. |
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