PORSCHE 'PREPARED' FOR RAIN AT IMOLA
With rain a distinct possibility at Imola, the host for the next round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, Porsche are “prepared” for the eventuality wet weather.
Porsche Penske Motorsport Managing Director Jonathan Diuguid told reporters in a pre-race media call including Motorsport Monday: “Rain is welcome in my book, anytime. I don’t know if the drivers would agree, because it kind of spices it up and puts it in their hands a little bit. It allows them to shine. So we’re prepared for it, if it comes, and look forward to it.”
Matt Campbell and Kevin Estre, from the #5 and #6 factory Porsche 963s, agreed with their boss.
“I think rain is good!” said Campbell. “Like [Diuguid] said, it for sure mixes things up, but definitely adds an extra element around tracks such as Imola, where it’ll be busy, or be busy. It’s undulating, you have to attack the kerbs. And we all know kerbs are very slippery when it’s wet.
So I think if it was to be wet conditions, it will be a very tricky race. I’m sure with lots of yellows and safety cars and stuff like this. So I think it could be very challenging but for sure would be a good mix,” the Australian concluded.
Estre, however, had a slightly different viewpoint. “Definitely, rain is always fun,” he added. “It depends. Let’s say if we are if we are dominating in the dry, I guess we all don’t want the rain…. I think it’s always fun as a driver, but it adds a lot of uncertain situation, and a lot of risk. So yeah, it can spice up stuff, but also ruin the race if you’re having a good race in the dry. But yeah, we’ll take it all.”
If it does rain during the weekend at Imola, Porsche may actually be at an advantage compared to the competition, as the German manufacturer tested in the wet there earlier this year.
Luckily in our case we were able to test in the rain when we were there,” said Diuguid. “I think on one hand, it was negative, because it was a new circuit. We would have liked to be able to test in the dry on the first day, but we did run in the wet there. I think the characteristics of Imola are quite a bit different than Qatar in general. It’s an older circuit, with big kerbs, bumpy, and things like that. So I think it’ll be quite a different dynamic.”
And finally, on Porsche’s specific preparation for the eventuality of rain, Diuguid seemed unconcerned.
“Luckily we’ve had consistency in our driver lineup from 2023 to 2024. So all of them have had the opportunity to race and or test in the rain. So I think they’re adapted to what the rain tyre needs. Because it is quite unique — I think, even if you just looked at the Michelin rain tyre for the Hypercars, you would compare it to other other racing rain tires and see that it’s quite different. So it takes a unique approach and I think our drivers are prepared for that.”