PIRELLI, AT THE NURBURGRING THE SECRET IS TO MANAGE THE VARIABILITY OF RACING CONDITIONS

That was the key to victory in last weekend's GTWC race, and it will also be the key to victory in next weekend's DTM round

The historic link between the Nurburgring and Pirelli, which has its permanent testing base at the German circuit, is becoming even more inseparable in 2023. After last May's 24 Hours, at the weekend just ended the long P was the protagonist of the hard-fought round of the GT World Challenge Europe and is about to be in the highly anticipated DTM round, scheduled for 5-6 August.

The three rounds have in common the well-known challenges of the German track, to which are added the frequent weather uncertainties, and the P Zero DHF, which has now become the reference tyre for modern GT cars.

In the GTWC round, thanks to their versatility and adaptability, it was precisely the tyres that made for an always open competition right from the morning qualifying session held in first rainy and then wet track conditions where all the car manufacturers were able to demonstrate their potential even in the most adverse conditions. The race, fought until the last few laps, was won by the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of the Akkodis team. The wide working range of the P Zero DHF allowed teams and drivers to cope, while maintaining maximum performance, with the continuous instability of the weather, which passed throughout the weekend from sunny and warm moments to autumnal moments with cold and rain.

Conditions that could also be repeated for next weekend's DTM race, in which some of the team and drivers who competed last Sunday in the GTWC will take part.

PIRELLI QUOTE
"The increasingly spectacular races we are witnessing, and the positive feedback from the teams, are giving us full confidence that we have achieved our objective, which is to have developed a product capable of adapting to all conditions and all cars," comments Matteo Braga, Circuit Activity Manager at Pirelli. "With this in mind, we also expect the DTM to be a hard-fought and open race right to the end, in which the marked weather variability will play an important role and require great reactivity from teams and drivers. Those who raced this weekend in the GTWC have a small advantage, because they were able to accumulate data and gain experience, but the truth is that at the Nurburgring the winner is the one who first knows how to react to changes in the situation and to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the characteristics of the track itself. In championships where the performance of the cars is so close, careful management of the tyres and their potential according to the track conditions is fundamental".

THE TRACK
The Nurburgring is a notoriously technical track, extremely demanding for the tyres, with many medium-low speed corners and short straights. Getting a good exit into the corners helps overtaking on the short straights that follow, which offer good passing opportunities in some places.

THE TYRES
Pirelli P Zero DHF is a tyre developed to meet the specific needs of all GT classes. Features of the DHF include a wider working range and a new construction solution, which optimises the car's balance with a better connection between the front and rear axles.