Why Monza is ideal for high-speed testing
After visiting Circuit Paul Ricard for the last two years, the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Prologue has a new home this year in Italy.
If there’s one thing that Monza is famous for, apart from being the temple of Italian motorsport, it’s speed. But what makes Monza an ideal high-speed testing venue?
The history
Built in 1922 and nestled in glorious parkland to the north of Milan, the 5.793 km circuitproduced the closest finish in Grand Prix history in 1971, as Peter Gethin shot from fourth to first on the final lap to win by a mere 0.01s, with the top five cars covered by just six tenths of a second.
The race was a slipstreaming classic, made possible by Monza’s mix of long straights and high-speed corners, which meant drivers were at full-throttle for much of the lap.
Of course, the track has changed a fair amount during the 46 years since Gethin’s day of days. Chicanes have been introduced to slow the cars before arriving at the Curva Grande and Lesmo Curves, and the track has been resurfaced to iron out the bumps. The basic characteristics remain the same, however, with LMP1 cars expected to reach speeds of 300 km/h at the Prologue.
High Speed WEC
Optimal lap times are achieved by removing as much downforce as possible from the rear wing to maximise straight-line performance, which makes Monza a useful point of reference for teams ahead of the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and, most particularly, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where top-end speed is vital for success.
Aside from an opportunity to experiment with different aerodynamic configurations and test the effects of varying fuel and tyre-wear levels, Monza is also a highly taxing circuit on engines and brakes, as drivers desperately attempt to scrub off speed before the tight first and second chicanes.
Ironing out any early reliability issues will be especially important for LMP1 and LMP2 teams giving their new cars a public debut at the Prologue, the first time that the FIA WEC has visited the circuit since the advent of the championship in 2012.
It will also be new for many of the teams, since the 1000km of Monza has not been staged since 2008, when Stéphane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy of Peugeot prevailed after an exciting battle with Audi.
The fastest lap on that day was a 1m32.449s, which will provide a fascinating barometer of just how far prototype and hybrid technology has advanced over the past nine years.
DID YOU KNOW?
Just eight of the drivers who contested the last 1000km of Monza will be present at the Prologue. These include race winner Pedro Lamy, Nicolas Lapierre, Roman Rusinov, Emmanuel Collard, Ford team-mates Olivier Pla and Stefan Mücke, Richard Lietz and Christian Ried.
Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography