The Auto Sport Promotion Lexus squad seized the possibility provided by the introduction of a brand new Goodyear LMGT3 tyre at Interlagos to assert a maiden World Endurance Championship class victory.
Crew boss Jerome Policand has revealed that ASP started making ready for the chance as way back as final November with an intensive check programme on the brand new hard-compound Goodyear.
ASP recognized the introduction of the tyre in Brazil as the very best probability for a category victory for the Lexus RC F GT3, which has struggled with tyre degradation on the Goodyear medium used because the introduction of LMGT3 in 2024.
“I noticed this race as our massive probability to win as a result of we knew Goodyear can be bringing the brand new tyre for the primary time,” Policand instructed Motorsport.com after Jose Maria Lopez, Clemens Schmid and Razvan Petru Umbrarescu took LMGT3 victory on Sunday within the #87 automotive.
“We first examined the brand new tyre on the rookie check at Bahrain final yr [after the WEC finale in November]. Then we did two days at Qatar and two days at Spa, each occasions working one automotive on the medium and one automotive on the arduous to do a back-to-back.
#87 Akkodis ASP Crew Lexus RC F LMGT3: Petru Umbrarescu, Clemens Schmid, Jose María Lopez
Picture by: Shameem Fahath
“I’m unsure another staff has performed a lot testing on the brand new tyre. However it gave us the information to get the precise set-up for Interlagos.”
Policand urged the medium-compound Goodyear allowed Lexus little or no probability of victory.
That’s even with the upturn in efficiency from the RC F this yr, which has included a first-class podium at Imola in April and a pole place at Spa.
“Because the starting of the season we’ve had the pace, however on the Le Mans 24 Hours we struggled on the third stint on the tyres and in all different races within the second,” defined Policand, who made 13 begins at Le Mans as a driver.
“There is no such thing as a strategy to win on the medium as a result of we all the time see the tyre temperatures go up on the entrance axle and we lose grip.
“With the arduous, the distinction is evening and day.”
The brand new tyre has been developed to permit for extra “constant tempo over the course of a number of stints”, defined Mike McGregor, Goodyear’s head of endurance racing EMEA on the launch of the tyre in Brazil.
Policand revealed that he was not anticipating ASP to win once more this yr with the RC F GT3 even when Goodyear chooses the arduous tyre as the one choice it brings to every occasion.
#87 Akkodis ASP Crew Lexus RC F LMGT3: Petru Umbrarescu, Clemens Schmid, Jose María Lopez
Picture by: FIAWEC – DPPI
The newest compound, accurately generally known as the Goodyear Eagle Onerous, shall be employed on the subsequent spherical of the championship in Austin in September after which on the Bahrain finale in November, with the medium because the chosen choice at Fuji in between.
Policand identified that situations had been prone to be a lot hotter at these two races than in Brazil and in addition highlighted the impact of the abrasive nature of the Bahrain monitor on tyre put on.
“I hope we are able to combat for podiums, however to win one other race I feel shall be troublesome,” he mentioned.
The upturn in tempo for the Lexus in 2025 has resulted from a change in set-up philosophy. ASP went for a stiffer set-up, which “made the automotive faster however hasn’t modified the degradation,” Policand mentioned.
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