Philipp Eng: “Tyre management will be a big issue at Assen”
Assen, often referred to as the Cathedral of Speed, welcomes the DTM for the first time this weekend as the season reaches the half-way stage with BMW Team RBM’s Philipp Eng admitted that the Dutch circuit is set to provide a fresh challenge.
Eng scored his first DTM victory earlier this season at Zolder, and heads to Assen as the best placed BMW driver in the championship, 26 points behind Audi’s René Rast in third spot.
The Austrian is one of the handful of drivers with previous experience of the Dutch track and said he was looking forward to racing there in the DTM.
“I am looking forward to Assen,” Eng said. “I drove there in the ADAC GT Masters in 2011. The circuit is great fun and I can imagine it being even more fun in the BMW M4 DTM.”
The track features a 4.542-kilometre layout with the first four corners being high-speed right-handers; something that is set to make tyre management crucial across the weekend.
“I think it’s a really cool track,” he said. “Driving there in a 2019 DTM car is going to be a big commitment. The track is sweeping and extremely fast: it’s got everything that a racing driver could want from a racetrack.
“In particular, Ramshoek (Turn 15) is extremely cool: racing drivers always love fast corners, so I think this place will make for an absolutely spectacular race.
“Tyre management will be a big issue, as the tyres can be put under some extreme strain there.”
“Assen was designed for motorcycle racing,” explains series tyre partner Hankook chief engineer Thomas Baltes. “The kerbs are flat, placing relatively little demand on the construction of the Hankook race tyre.
“In contrast, the running surface of the Ventus Race is put under greater strain when accelerating out of corners in the winding sections, some of which are very narrow,” added Baltes.
Timetable
Friday 19th July
13:00 – Free Practice 1
16:15 – Free Practice 2
Saturday 20th July
10:15 – Qualifying for Race 1
13:30 – Race 1 (55 minutes plus one lap)
Sunday 21st July
10:20 – Qualifying for Race 2
13:30 – Race 2 (55 minutes plus one lap)
