THE INSIDE TRACK WITH RISI'S RICK MAYER
The Track
This flat (minimal elevation change) track is long; 4.5 miles with 23 turns. Last year there were no land marks on the track; 4.5 miles of asphalt in the desert. Without any geographic differentiation, the approach to several corners looked alike. You can see virtually the entire track from atop the timing stand in pit lane; this makes it easy to give running gaps to the drivers for in-class fighting and approaching LMP (overtaking) traffic.
The elevation of Salt Lake City is about 4,200 ft. Thin air means less engine power (lower air density), generally higher brake and engine temperatures (less dense means less heat dissipation capacity), but with less power we get better fuel mileage as less dense air means you use correspondingly less fuel.
The Ferrari
The Ferrari didn't have engine temperature issues last year but the brakes did get hot. The ambient temperature should be 30F cooler then last year, as the event was held in August (+100F to 70'sF). The reduction in power due to thinner air usually equates to more understeer in the slower corners. When you take power away you now have more rear lateral grip on power, which leads to more understeer on exit. Putting the power down, on rear drive cars, takes up some of the available rear grip and frees the car up. Damper (shock) work here isn't as important as the previous races, which were all contested on relatively bumpy tracks. There are a lot of medium speed corners and between most corners you have to brake, not threshold, but enough to slow the car to the proper entrance speed.
The corners are close enough that the brakes don't cool off, hence the brake temperature issue. The close distance between corners doesn't allow the front tires to cool either. Last year this contributed to rear instability on entrance due to too much initial front grip at turn-in. The cooler temperatures (ambient and track) could change this.
The Setup
The long, moderately fast corners (and some change of direction esses) here will favor a stiffer setup (anti-roll bar and springs) and will also favor the mid-engine cars (that would be the Ferrari). The rear engine Porsches will suffer on the long corners. The Ferrari's weight distribution (lending to a similar front and rear tire size) will make it more consistent throughout the corner. The Porsches will fight to keep the balance consistent through the whole corner; the altitude (less power) will exaggerate their exit understeer issues. The track isn't very abrasive but the blowing sand does change the grip. During the race it will get sandy off-line. The track may be wide but the line won't be. The constant traffic on the line will keep the sand off.
Risi has an advantage in that both Jaime and Mika raced (and won) here last year. The first practice will just be a refresher for them. Drivers that haven't been here will take the first session to familiarize themselves with the 23 turns and as a result they won't get much setup work done. Last year's race only had one full course yellow and we anticipate few (if any) yellows this year. It's a long track with good runoff and the quality of the drivers is high. It should be a two-stop race for all the GT2 cars, unless there's a substantial amount of yellow, even with the better fuel economy. The GT cars have 10 percent less fuel this year per the 2007 rules. The Ferrari had the upper hand here last year and it shouldn't change this year, at least that's what we hope.
The Track
This flat (minimal elevation change) track is long; 4.5 miles with 23 turns. Last year there were no land marks on the track; 4.5 miles of asphalt in the desert. Without any geographic differentiation, the approach to several corners looked alike. You can see virtually the entire track from atop the timing stand in pit lane; this makes it easy to give running gaps to the drivers for in-class fighting and approaching LMP (overtaking) traffic.
The elevation of Salt Lake City is about 4,200 ft. Thin air means less engine power (lower air density), generally higher brake and engine temperatures (less dense means less heat dissipation capacity), but with less power we get better fuel mileage as less dense air means you use correspondingly less fuel.
The Ferrari
The Ferrari didn't have engine temperature issues last year but the brakes did get hot. The ambient temperature should be 30F cooler then last year, as the event was held in August (+100F to 70'sF). The reduction in power due to thinner air usually equates to more understeer in the slower corners. When you take power away you now have more rear lateral grip on power, which leads to more understeer on exit. Putting the power down, on rear drive cars, takes up some of the available rear grip and frees the car up. Damper (shock) work here isn't as important as the previous races, which were all contested on relatively bumpy tracks. There are a lot of medium speed corners and between most corners you have to brake, not threshold, but enough to slow the car to the proper entrance speed.
The corners are close enough that the brakes don't cool off, hence the brake temperature issue. The close distance between corners doesn't allow the front tires to cool either. Last year this contributed to rear instability on entrance due to too much initial front grip at turn-in. The cooler temperatures (ambient and track) could change this.
The Setup
The long, moderately fast corners (and some change of direction esses) here will favor a stiffer setup (anti-roll bar and springs) and will also favor the mid-engine cars (that would be the Ferrari). The rear engine Porsches will suffer on the long corners. The Ferrari's weight distribution (lending to a similar front and rear tire size) will make it more consistent throughout the corner. The Porsches will fight to keep the balance consistent through the whole corner; the altitude (less power) will exaggerate their exit understeer issues. The track isn't very abrasive but the blowing sand does change the grip. During the race it will get sandy off-line. The track may be wide but the line won't be. The constant traffic on the line will keep the sand off.
Risi has an advantage in that both Jaime and Mika raced (and won) here last year. The first practice will just be a refresher for them. Drivers that haven't been here will take the first session to familiarize themselves with the 23 turns and as a result they won't get much setup work done. Last year's race only had one full course yellow and we anticipate few (if any) yellows this year. It's a long track with good runoff and the quality of the drivers is high. It should be a two-stop race for all the GT2 cars, unless there's a substantial amount of yellow, even with the better fuel economy. The GT cars have 10 percent less fuel this year per the 2007 rules. The Ferrari had the upper hand here last year and it shouldn't change this year, at least that's what we hope.
