Harrison: Car, Tire Changes Balance Out Jerez Knowledge

Ashton Harrison says she has “a little bit of a leg up” on her Lamborghini World Finals rivals due to her previous experience at Jerez, although she believes much of that advantage is evened out by changes in car and tire specification compared to five years ago.

Harrison is one of the few current North American drivers to have raced at the Spanish venue when it previously hosted the World Finals event in 2019, returning this year as part of her Wayne Taylor Racing Am-class partnership with Graham Doyle.

After regularly competing in the series between 2019 and 2022, Harrison rejoined the grid this year to team up with Doyle, sharing the No. 110 car at the World Finals.

It marks a return to the Spanish venue for the first time since 2019, when she piloted a WTR-run Prestige Performance Lamborghini and took an LB Cup class win during the World Finals.

Speaking with Sportscar365, Harrison explained that she reckons the advantage of her existing knowledge is balanced out by changes in car and tire specification compared to five years ago.

The series has most notably changed tire suppliers since the previous visit to Jerez, moving from Pirelli to Hankook in 2023.

“I feel like there’s a little bit of a leg up with having prior experience here, but the tire is so different,” she said.

“It’s almost like you’re relearning the track. So really the only leg up was saying, ‘Hey, yeah, I’ve raced here.’ I know how to make passes here. I know how to be aggressive.

“But at the end of the day, we’re having to relearn the tire which completely changes the balance of the car.

“I’m grateful to be back here and this time in a different class and getting to still put it all out there like we know.”

Notably, Lamborghini also introduced a further update to its Super Trofeo platform since 2019, with the current EVO2 forming the backbone of its single-make offerings since 2022.

“It’s a little different,” Harrison replied when asked about the differences compared to the original Super Trofeo EVO.

“I do feel like there’s a little bit more aero support with the front end of the EVO2 and the brakes are just crazy good. As always, they continue to get better.

“But at the end of the day, it’s got over 600 horsepower, and you’re thrashing on this thing for 50 minutes, and your job is also to save the equipment for your teammate or yourself for later on.

“So it’s just always evolving. The one thing that stays true is that it’s got enough horsepower for five or six cars so you have to just learn to drive it.

“Learn to be aggressive, learn to be cautious but also take risks because that’s the only way you’re going to win these races.”

Harrison also reckoned that the increased brake performance has also changed the way she is able to attack the Spanish circuit.

“I think it’s more like we’re able to go deeper into the brake zones than we were prior and being able to really utilize that brake pressure,” she said.

“So that’s to me been the biggest improvement. But also we’re on a different tire, so there are small changes we have to do to our driving style but the brakes for sure have been a big improvement.”