All the work of preparing the car before sending it on the track often takes a back seat, but the inaugural round in Portimao is also an opportunity to observe the phases that precede the tests on the track. Here is also how Michelin tires work
The action on the track, there is no story, is what captures the public, glued to the screens from home or waiting for the cars to pass at a point on the track. It cannot be otherwise: man and machine that come together in one thing to challenge time is the history of motorsport. But for this to be possible and for each driver to focus exclusively on giving the best of himself between the curbs, the team’s work must be flawless. Everything must be coordinated, a harmony of actions comparable to the fluidity of a controlled drift. From the complete check of the car to the pit stop tests, the Portimao weekend – the first round of the DTM 2022 season – is an opportunity to closely observe the stages of preparation for action on the track.
DTM 2022: work in the Lamborghini garage
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The tests on 26 and 27 April paved the way for the Dtm 2022 season, with the drivers who took to the Portimao track from 5 to 10 pm. Ten total hours of testing are still ten total hours of testing, but despite this the technicians, during the tests, some aspects had to be worked on due to the different climatic conditions that can be found during the day compared to the evening. The great work of set-up, also considering that Portimao is home to private tests and one of the tracks of which Lamborghini has a large number of data, was done during the tests, leaving the two free practice sessions only the up-to-date work. as per program. Between pit stop tests and start tests, the work of the mechanics particularly concerned the set-up to manage the peak performance of the tires in qualifying, the moment in which all the components are at maximum effort. The Michelin tires for these cars and in the conditions found in Portimao – sunshine and an average of 22 ° – work well at low temperatures, therefore optimal for chasing the best time in the morning qualifying session, but tire degradation in the race – especially with a rear-wheel drive car – is a topic of discussion inside the pits. What can be done between FP1 and FP2 is to match the aerodynamic balance data with the mechanical one, therefore with interventions on the roll, stiffness of the axles, springs and anti-roll bars, adjustment of the shock absorbers at high and low speed, height from the ground and wing.
DTM 2022: the preparation of the Lamborghini
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The mechanics, an hour and a half before the start of FP1, begin with the complete check procedures of the Huracans: check the level of all fluids, check the state of the braking system and bleed the brakes to remove unwanted air. Then, the 5.2-liter V10 with almost 600 HP, engines derived from the Huracan Evo road-going (but with less power due to the restrictions imposed that limit the intake), come on. The procedure involves, rather than warming up the engine itself, warming up the gearbox oil (sequential six-speed). Once all the operations have been completed, the quick release doors are reassembled and the car is ready to hit the track. Once the shift is over, the car is raised, examined and all the camber, toe and click adjustment data of the shock absorbers are reported. From there, together with the rider’s feedback, we study the possible set-up to be used in the subsequent rounds, also because in this championship between qualifying and the race there is no material time to make big changes and therefore we have to look for the best compromise between a qualifying and a race setting.
Michelin tires: double use
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Before FP1, the five sets of tires are also prepared (six in the case of wild cards) to be used on the weekend. Michelin has developed tires – with no differentiation between soft, medium and hard but only between dry and wet – capable of being very performing in the very first laps, optimizing the lap time. Beyond this window, on average four or five laps, the performance of the tires decreases and stabilizes at approximately 7/8 tenths of a second above the hypothetical qualifying time. In this way the drivers on the track have the possibility to use a set of new tires for the two qualifying sessions, but then keep this train for the second part of the race and reassemble it at the time of the pit stop, thus taking advantage of the performance of the tires on the race pace. A strategy, among other things, which allows the use of a new set of tires at the start of the race, which we know to be the most excited moments of the race where having a set of fresh tires can make the difference for any overtaking and position defenses. , while for FP1 and FP2, if desired, even a single train can be used.
The top driver inside the box
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From the driver’s point of view, it is Mirko Bortolotti himself (Lamborghini Grasser Racing Team) who tells us about his life in the box: “Inside the garage I don’t have many tasks to do: the guys work on the car independently of me and I want to give them the opportunity to work peacefully. So apart from seat adjustments or changes inside the passenger compartment where my presence is necessarily needed, I try to respect the routine and leave them free to concentrate on the car. At the same time this allows me to optimize the time available to me to interact with the technicians, with the data engineering and with the track engineer in the briefing room or inside the motorhome to create a synergy that has the aim of finding the best possible trim. I don’t have a lot of time to relax because in DTM having no teammates you spend a lot of time on the track and the same for collateral activities such as interviews, press conferences, marketing activities and so on. But once the day is over, I also like to disconnect and relax outside the circuit “.
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