FIA GT1 – Hexis / Dumas: “A hope of a title”

Two points. Such is the meager spoils brought home by the Hexis Racing team at the end of the second round of the FIA ​​GT1 World Championship which took place at the Slovakia Ring (August 18-19). “We had prepared this meeting very well, we had great hope of a result, deplores team manager Philippe Dumas. And ultimately, it was our hardest weekend in a long time. » Surprising when we know that the McLaren MP4-12C n°1 took pole and then a podium in the Championship Race on the same track at the beginning of June.

First of all, the two English riders barely participated in free practice, the fault of a differential problem identified when they arrived on site. And as an important development appeared, the lack of running was very detrimental for the rest of the meeting. Furthermore, the day before the departure in Slovakia, McLaren obtained approval from the FIA ​​for new suspension triangles, which are no longer mounted on silent blocks, but on ball joints. Certainly, this is progress, but this modification, validated with Michelin rubber, was obviously not without consequences on the tires. “We spent most of the winter testing understanding and fine-tuning the car with the Pirellis, and we have to start from scratch with these new suspensions” adds Philippe Dumas. Finally, last but not least, this famous turbo of which the FIA ​​cannot really determine precisely the contribution, and which requires, of course, a control of the boost pressure. In GT1, the MP4-12C is in fact the only car to be equipped with it. The McLaren was therefore approved with an electronic “snitch” system, a diode which lights up if the turbos “boost” the power too much. “There is a misunderstanding between the commissioners of the Fédération Internationale de l?Automobile and McLaren on this issue, explains the Frenchman. Little by little, we realize that the power of our engine is not precisely controlled. Depending on different parameters, including the outside temperature, the diode can light up with more or less high pressure, and we can lose up to a second per turn! »

We will have understood, everything did not go as hoped for the Nimois in Slovakia. But the reigning world champions are not the type to give up. And all the more so since Stef Dusseldorp and Fred Makowiecki, the house driver, can still dream of the world crown, even if 39 points separate them from the leaders, namely Yelmer Buurman and Michael Bartels. But, last year, before the final round, in San Luis, Argentina, who would have bet a ruble on the World Team title? “We must get our act together for Russia, where we will have no room for error, concludes Philippe Dumas. Fortunately, we don't have much time to think about it because the trucks have already left. The positive is that we tested a lot of things. It's up to us to make the most of the stored data. We're going to give it our all because we still have a hope of a title and we're going to do everything to get there, hoping that the FIA ​​will do something for the BoP (Performance Balance. Ed.) because the current imbalance between the forces present is not acceptable. » Be careful, Hexis hasn't said his last word...