Gianmaria Bruni's spectacular spin in GTE Pro qualifying for the 4 Hours of Silverstone are likely to blame on a set of cold Michelin tyres that caused the Italian to lose grip.
Bruni was on a flying lap when he lost control of his #91 Porsche 911 RSR-19 at Farm Curve, spinning across the track before gaining control on the run-off area.
"We don’t know, I think it was cold tyres," Bruni told Motorsport Week. "It was an easy left corner, flat, and I lost the car completely. So I think it’s more about cold tyres, but overall I’m happy. Lap time was good, very fast for the flying lap. Second lap could have been a lot better without the spin, but it is what it is."
😲 Do you need a new 👖 @GianmariaBruni? #WEC #4HSilverstone @Porsche pic.twitter.com/JZ2cdvc9eY
— WEC 🇬🇧 (@FIAWEC) August 31, 2019
The Italian veteran caused a red flag not much later when he left a significant portion of left-front bodywork on the track at Stowe corner.
"Yeah, because with the spin, we had damaged left tyres. So going to the pits, the tyre exploded and damaged the bodywork," Bruni explained.
Together with Richard Lietz, the pair will be starting from fourth place in the FIA WEC season opener, with the two AF Corse Ferraris and the #97 Aston Martin starting ahead of them. Unlike previous years, the race will be shorter, having changed from six to four hours.
Bruni, a former Minardi Formula One driver, does not expect the new format to bring about any major changes: "We’ll see. We’ll see about the strategy, we’ll see how it goes, how many full course yellows we will get. From my side, nothing. We will see."
