New corner provides additional excitement

Going into the third round of the DTM at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz this weekend, the situation in the points’ standings is evenly matched like hardly ever before: both in the AMG Mercedes camp and at Audi, all model years seem to be able to challenge for victory this season. For the tyre partner of the most popular international touring car series, this doesn’t come as a surprise: “The racing version of the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx, especially developed and provided by us for the DTM, works very well for both manufacturers and for all car generations”, says Michael Bellmann, head of technology at Dunlop’s racing service.

Like many other actors in the DTM, the racing service from Hanau is also curious while travelling to the Lausitz region: just before the third round of the DTM, the lay-out of the track has been changed in the run up to the first corner. A sharp left-hander has been designed to provide overtaking opportunities and additional action, before the field heads back to the already familiar infield section through a right-hand corner. “Because relevant parameters like the asphalt structure and the rest of the lay-out remain unchanged, the reconstruction will not have too many effects as far as the tyres are concerned”, Michael Bellmann reckons. “The track is not very aggressive on the tyres and at the moment, the additional pressure because of the hard braking will not have any effect on the basic characteristics. The 2007-specification of the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx will be able to handle this without any problems.” This statement can already be made at such an early stage, because another advantage of the DTM tyre regulations applies here: the gradual evolution of the special DTM tyres from Hanau resulted into a new model, of which the basic construction could be maintained. “Thus, we could inform the teams that the data from the 2006 season could be more or less carried over at an early stage already.”

But of course, the reconstruction of the track also means that the knowledge of the experts from Dunlop’s racing service is required more frequently. The optimised tread surface compound of the 2007 Sport Maxx generation and the reconstruction of the track enforces the engineers of the racing service and their partners in the DTM teams to thoroughly analyse the data to find a good set-up. Michael Bellmann knows: “In turn 1, it is all about attraction that might provide the decisive advantage in the race. From that point of view, the reconstruction is making our job even more demanding and therefore more interesting.”