Pirelli in the ADAC GT Masters: Top performance under extreme conditions

• Pirelli tyres have to withstand the tough challenges posed by the ADAC GT Masters and ADAC Formula 4
• Race weekends demand perfect logistic planning from Pirelli
More than 1,100 tyres per weekend in the ADAC GT Masters and the ADAC Formula 4

Munich: Pirelli’s debut as exclusive tyre partner to the ADAC GT Masters and the new ADAC Formula 4 at the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben went without a hitch. The second event of the 2015 campaign is now set to take place during the weekend of 5th - 7th June at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, where the fast track layout and summer temperatures will present several new challenges. For Pirelli, the occasion once again demands perfect logistic planning.

The premium tyre manufacturer delivers around 500 tyres from its P Zero product family for each race, the sizes ranging from 305/660-18 up to 325/705-19. They are manufactured at the specialist motorsport factories in Romania and Turkey and transported by truck to the respective race venues. The regulations stipulate that each super sports car is entitled to three new sets of slicks (i.e. having no tread pattern). No limit is imposed on the quantity of rain tyres.

Ten Pirelli mechanics are on hand at each race weekend for fitting and four to answer any engineering queries. These Pirelli employees make themselves available to the teams both before and after the race, at tests and also as technical advisers at other times.

A wealth of knowledge flows from performance under race conditions, which is then incorporated into the development of new road tyres. “During a race weekend, we record and analyse multiple parameters and factors,” says Michael Blaufuss, Head of Motorsport at Pirelli Germany. “These include the external appearance of the tyres, the feedback we receive from drivers and engineers, the race conditions and the data we have gathered on wear, pressure and temperature.” This information furnishes the tyre manufacturer with valuable insights into the behaviour of the product under extreme conditions. Not least because the Pirellis are fitted to eight different brands of car contesting the ADAC GT Masters, each of which differs markedly from the others in terms of design and driving dynamics.

“In this way, the products are constantly monitored and analysed so that we can understand them down to the last detail,” explains Anna Playford, Trackside Engineer at Pirelli. “This is the basis for the developers to carry on advancing and optimising the design, the treads and the rubber compound.” After the race, however, the lifecycle of the tyre is over; it is recycled in environmentally friendly fashion, a fate which it shares with around 650 other tyres that Pirelli supplies each race weekend for ADAC Formula 4.

All the teams in this series use a standard single-seater car built by Italian company Tatuus with identical suspension. The front tyres have a dimension of 200/540-13 while the rear pair measure 250/575-13. “Even so, each team uses a different suspension setup, which in turn has a different effect on the performance of the tyres,” says Blaufuss. The ADAC Formula 4 regulations allocate each team six new slick tyres per race weekend and a maximum two sets of wets.

Just like the ADAC GT Masters, ADAC Formula 4 constitutes an exacting test for the quality of the tyres, the results of which then contribute to the development of the standard tyre fitted to the average family car. Blaufuss explains the strategic thinking behind Pirelli’s involvement in the sport: “We use motor racing as an experimental environment in which performance is tested under the harshest conditions, with the results subsequently being incorporated into the development of new materials, processes and tyre designs. We learn more with every new race, which enables us to improve running performance and extend the life of our tyres.”