It was an action-packed weekend at Germany’s Hockenheim track for Pirelli during round five of the inaugural GP3 series.
The two races were characterized by changeable weather, wrecks and incidents, according to company racing manager Mario Isola. The inclement weather meant that drivers ran the racing rain tire for the first time on Friday and Saturday during practice and qualifying.
“The circuit is fast and technical, featuring quick straights but also an extremely twisty and technical stadium section,” says Isola. “The first corner in particular, which was extremely slippery, caught out several drivers in the challenging wet conditions,” he notes.
“As expected in the torrentially wet conditions, drivers faced a battle to stay on the track.” Nonetheless, the first race was dry, enabling Canada’s Robert Wickens to seal his first GP3 victory from James Jakes, who started in the pole position.
Race two was also held in dry weather. With both races using a dry track for the first time during the weekend the drivers had very little time to reacquaint themselves with the medium compound tire, used for the opening two GP3 meetings in Barcelona and Istanbul.
Esteban Gutierrez took his fourth GP3 win in race two to extend his championship lead from Alexander Rossi.
Hockenheim was additionally the site of round 11 of this year’s Formula One World Championship, “giving the 30 youngsters who compete in GP3 the chance to display their abilities in front of some of the most influential people” in motorsports, according to Isola. “With identical Renault-engined Dallara chassis producing 280 horsepower, the accent is firmly on driving performance,” he observes.
“This was far from a normal weekend for everyone, with the most uncertain weather that we have seen at any GP3 race meeting so far,” says Isola. “Although we have tested with our wet weather tires, this was the first time that they have been used in practice and qualifying, so we were very pleased to assess their performance in competitive conditions.”
He goes on to point out that “we were very happy with what we saw, as it is clear that the rain tires are very competitive. With the weather drying up for the two races, the drivers had very little time to adapt themselves to the medium-compound dry tires on this circuit, but once again our tires were stable and consistent enough for all the drivers to be quickly on the pace.”
The next two races of the eight-round GP3 Series take place at the July 30-Aug. 1 Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest. “This is the first time that a GP3 race meeting has run on consecutive weekends,” Isola explains, “adding an extra logistical challenge for Pirelli, which will also supply GP2 and Formula One next year.”
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