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Continental Tire Keys to the Race: Petit Le Mans

Continental Tire Keys to the Race: Petit Le Mans…

Photo: IMSA

Photo: IMSA

The 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season draws to a close this weekend at Road Atlanta with the 18th annual Petit Le Mans, which also doubles as the final leg of the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup.

Continental Tire Keys to the Race: 

Race: Petit LeMans powered by Mazda

Track: Road Atlanta

Length: 10 hours

Entries: 37 cars spread across four classes: 9 cars (P), 8 cars (PC), 8 cars (GTLM), 12 cars (GTD)

Schedule:

Thursday, Oct. 1 (all times ET)
Practice 1 – 11:10 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.
Practice 2 – 3:35-4:35 p.m.
Practice 3 – 7:30 – 9 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 2
Practice 4 – 10:05 – 11:05 a.m.
CTSC Race – 12:15 – 2:45 p.m. (2 hours, 30 minutes)
Qualifying –  3:35 – 5:05 p.m.

Sat, Oct. 3
Warm-up – 9 – 9:25 a.m.
Race –  11:15 a.m. – 9:15 p.m. (10 hours)

Previous Winners: Wayne Taylor Racing (P), Starworks Motorsport (PC), Team Falken Tire (GTLM), Paul Miller Racing (GTD)

Previous Polesitters: Christian Fittipaldi (P), Jack Hawksworth (PC), Nick Tandy (GTLM), James Davison (GTD).

Driver Insight: “It’s a driver’s track, an old school track. Even though they have made many upgrades, it hasn’t lost its character. Turn 1 and Turn 12 are still big corners. The “esses” are a lot of fun, and downforce and grip are important there. Overall, it’s a great facility with a fantastic rhythm. I think our cars drive that track particularly well.” – Sylvain Tremblay, Driver No. 70 SpeedSource Mazda SKYACTIV Diesel prototype.

Drive Times: Minimum: 2 hours 30 minutes for PC & GTD Silver/Bronze drivers;  Maximum: 7hours and no more than 4 hours in any 6-hour period.

Tires: Continental Tire “Gold” for P; Continental Tire “Black” for PC and GTD. Multiple tire brands/compounds for GTLM

Pit Stops: 40-45 minute stint length for P, PC; 50-55 minutes for GTLM, GTD

Weather: Showers, High: 68 F, 50 percent chance of rain

TV:
Sat. Oct. 3:
11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (FOX Sports 2)
12 – 2:30 p.m. (IMSA.com)
2:30 – 7 p.m. (FOX Sports 2)
7 – 8:30 p.m. (IMSA.com)
8:30 – 9:30 p.m. (FOX Sports 2)

Sun. Oct. 4:
1:30 – 4:30 p.m. (FOX Sports 1)

Radio: Complete session-by-session coverage on IMSA Radio

Spotter’s Guide: Click Here

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

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