Heart of Racing’s Alex Riberas told Motorsport Week how the LMGT3 cars have recently become the last to slow down into the corners at Le Mans owing to their use of ABS.
“Traffic, this year, is particularly hard and that is because the GT3 cars are now the cars that brake the latest on every single brake zone.
“And that is because we are arriving to the corners slower than last year.
“We are slower on the top speed compared to the GTE cars however, we have ABS which we didn’t have last year [in GTE].
“That means that before we have the latest braking [point] performance across the entire field.”
Whilst it is not the first time for GT3 machinery given the Road to Le Mans events which have previously taken place, it is for the LMGT3 category this year.
Nevertheless, 23 GT3 cars enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans seeking the first-ever victory for the class.
Heart of Racing, as well as D’station Racing, field the two FIA World Endurance Championship cars from Aston Martin manufacturer.
The #27 Aston Martin AMR Vantage driver described how the new phenomenon of late braking affected traffic management from an LMGT3 perspective.
“That creates certain circumstances where traffic becomes very difficult, because the Hypercars and the LMP2 cars are overtaking us and all of a sudden they have to brake earlier than we do.
“That can cause hesitation, that can cause confusion, and that’s going to – for sure – cause some incidents during the race.
“And being smart about that, being clear with your communication within traffic is going to be fundamental.
“I think it’s going to be instrumental in order to survive. This edition of Le Mans is going to be very much a survival race and that is because of traffic.
“… this year we have the new rule with the energy management.
“So when you see that happening, it is actually a very useful thing to do to.
“Just [to] understand that you’re going to lose much less time if you lift-and-coast early, save some energy, let the Hypercar get on the right and the most optimal line before braking so that he is able to be as quick as possible through the apex.
“Because if he has to brake later than you, that means he’s going to have to be very slow at the apex in order to rotate the car and therefore you are also going to pay the price.
“So in terms of speed, in terms of avoiding contact, the smart thing to do is to lift.
“However, I’m saying that on the couch, on a Wednesday. When it’s Saturday and you have three cars behind you that want to pass you, that becomes a whole lot more difficult.”
