Diuguid: Double Stinting Tires to Result in “Different Approach”

Photo: Porsche

IMSA and Michelin’s reduced tire allocations for the Rolex 24 at Daytona and WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season will result in a “different approach” taken by GTP teams according to Porsche Penske Motorsport managing director Jonathan Diuguid.

The new-for-2023 top prototype class will be double stinting tires in races, as part of IMSA’s energy-focused initiatives that includes the introduction of second-generation renewable fuel and new measurements for stint length.

GTP teams will be limited to 25 sets of Michelin tires during the Rolex 24 event, not counting the tire set utilized in qualifying at the Roar that can be carried over, with that allocation reduced to a maximum of 20 sets in the race itself.

That compares to a maximum of 38 sets of tires that DPi teams had available in the event last year.

Additionally, GTP entries will have two different compounds to choose from for the first time on a race weekend, with 15 sets of the ‘high temperature’ soft tire available and ten sets of the ‘low temperature’ compound to accommodate the typical range in weather.

Diuguid said the new variables in tires will be one of the key factors to validate during the Roar and Rolex 24 practice sessions.

“A lot of us are going to go through similar procedures our teams have done in preparation for the Daytona 24 Hours before,” he said. “But if I had to pinpoint one thing, I would pinpoint the tires.

“A lot of the testing that all of us have done was on different styles of tires, whether it was previous construction or current compound or current compound and previous construction to where we really haven’t had a ton of exposure to the tire that we’re all planning on racing on.

“The test we all participated in December was on the warmer side. If January in Florida ends up being as it has been in previous years, it’s going to be a lot colder than any of us have experienced.

“With some regulation changes from IMSA, the tire quantities that we have available to us for the race has been significantly reduced.

“Double stinting or even triple stinting, in some cases, is going to be a lot more prevalent than it has been previously.

“It’s going to generate a slightly different approach to the race than we’ve had in the past.

“Understanding tire usage and tires is going to be critical in those practice sessions.”

IMSA and Michelin utilized the December test at Daytona International Speedway to finalize both tire allocations and maximum stint energy, which will now be the unit of measurement when factoring in energy produced by the LMDh cars’ hybrid systems.

“It was a great opportunity for Michelin to collect data from [the] test on this track and for IMSA to really get a read on stint length,” IMSA technical director Matt Kurdock told Sportscar365.

“The stint length and tire allocations go hand in hand.

“We’ve given all the manufacturers a maximum stint energy target to achieve. We’re also going to look at the fuel consumption associated with it, so we’re not setting any stint energy that would put someone at their maximum fuel the car can carry.

“We’re also looking at the replenishment of that energy and the associated refueling time that goes hand in hand with it, so we can get this balance of how long the car need to be plugged in to replenish the energy during the race.

“It’s this balance of all of the parameters that go hand in hand with the tire allocation.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John