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Category: Latest News

Created on Wednesday, 18 March 2015 13:25

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Nuts & Bolts

Who’s Racing:

Tudor United SportsCar Challenge (P, PC, GTD & GTLM) – March 21, 2015 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge – March 20, 2015

Track:

Sebring International Raceway - 3.74-mile, 17-turn road course

Length:

 Tudor Championship - 12 hour endurance race (Second leg of the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Championship) Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Series – 2.5 hour time limit

Tire Sets:

• Tudor Championship - P teams will be allowed 24 sets of tires for the 12 Hour race (including dry and wet tires); PC teams, 18 sets; and GTD teams will receive 18 sets.  
• There is no set limit for the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.

WHICH TIRE ARE THEY USING:

**Continental Tire has designated, Blacks, as the dry tire to be raced at Sebring in 2015. If teams move to wet tires, the P and PC classes will stay on, Blacks, while the GTD class will move to, Golds.

P    Blacks – the same tire compound used at Long Beach, Mazda Raceway, Detroit, Mosport, Lime Rock, Road America, VIR, COTA, and Road Atlanta.

Delta Wing     Blacks – because it’s the only car on this configuration, it will race on, Blacks, year round.

PC    Blacks – the same tire compound used at Long Beach, Mazda Raceway, Detroit, Mosport, Lime Rock, Road America, VIR, COTA, and Road Atlanta.

GTD    Blacks – the same tire compound used at Long Beach, Mazda Raceway, Detroit, Mosport, Lime Rock, Road America, VIR, COTA, and Road Atlanta.

CTSCC     This tire compound will be used at all other tracks this year.

 Pit Window:

A fuel stint for the P class is approximately 50 minutes. The PC and GTD classes could go up to one hour on a load of fuel. Some teams may double once the sun goes down and the track temps cool off.

Track Characteristics:

Sebring International Raceway is not typically hard on tires but it does require teams to keep up with the ever changing track surface. The track is notoriously bumpy and has a lot of concrete, allowing the track to take rubber. Historically, as track temperatures go up, the grip reduces.

FYI

• How many? – Continental Tire will bring roughly 5,400 tires to Sebring to accommodate two series and a total of 14.5 hours of racing.
• Street vs. Race - Compared to a street tire, race tire treads are thin. In fact, they are about one-quarter of the depth of a traditional tire on a passenger vehicle. The sidewalls are thinner and the tire weighs half of what a street tire weighs. In some ways the race tire is more durable and in other ways, a passenger car tire is more durable because it’s designed to run in a wide range of environmental conditions. Of note, 300 miles on a race tire is equivalent to upwards of 60,000 miles on a street tire.
• New Addition – Continental Tire launched the newest ultra-high performance (UHP), all-season tire in their ExtremeContactTM line of tires last week at their proving grounds in Uvalde, TX. The ExtremeContactTM DWS06 will hit shelves in early May of this year but to demonstrate the grip, comfort and performance of the new tire, Continental Tire enlisted the help of TUDOR United SportsCar Championship driver, Ozz Negri, and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge driver, Marc Miller. For two days the duo gave rides to dealers and media and put on a show with more donuts than we could count.

  The next generation of the ExtremeContact^TM DWS is the tire of choice for drivers seeking true, year-round traction. A tire built for sports cars, luxury sport cars and luxury sport crossovers, it’s a tire that’s made, For What You Do. The ExtremeContact^TM DWS⁰⁶ marks the debut of SportPlus^TM Technology which is designed for precise handling; security on wet, slippery roads; and excellent tread life. Another marquee feature is Continental’s Quick View Indicators, including the Alignment Verification System and Tuned Performance Indicators. Drivers will receive an extra measure of confidence with the inclusion of Tuned Performance Indicators. The Dry, Wet and Snow letters in the tread indicate the tire’s optimal performance levels in a variety of driving conditions.

• Twitter Takeover – TUDOR United SportsCar Championship driver, Dion von Moltke, will take over Continental’s Twitter channel beginning Wednesday, March 18. Throughout the Sebring race weekend, von Moltke will give fans an inside look at the historic race through a driver’s eyes providing a unique perspective and content that can’t be found anywhere else. Look for von Moltke’s tweets as he uses “DVM” to Tweet. Send him a note and let him know what you want to see this week!

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