Lynn says GP2 tyre experience to thank for Spa victory
G-Drive Racing's Alex Lynn says the tyre management knowledge he gained in GP2 was crucial in taking the win in the LMP2 class of the WEC 6 Hours of Spa.
#26 G-Drive Racing Oreca 07 Gibson: Roman Rusinov, Pierre Thiriet, Alex Lynn
The #26 G-Drive entry of Lynn, Roman Rusinov and Pierre Thiriet started from LMP2 pole and led the majority of the race to win the class by over 50 seconds.
Lynn, who took the 2014 GP3 crown before stepping up to GP2 for two years, reckons it was a "Pirelli-style race" at Spa.
When asked what helped him manage the tyres during the race, he highlighted his experience in the aforementioned two championships.
"Two years of GP2 and one year of GP3," he said. "I think it was very much a Pirelli-style race, very similar to what we've experienced in GP2, massive degradation.
"I've learnt a lot about tyre degredation and tyre performance in my career and so from my side today I was happy that I could influence that and also help someone like Pierre [Thiriet].
"We spoke a lot before the race about how we're going to drive and manage the situation."
He continued: "The driving style, the best way to explain it, you know when you play like [the video game] F1 2016 and you see the tyre indicators.
"You're almost constantly thinking what each tyre is doing. If the left-rear is struggling a little bit, you push through the left-handers so I can use the right a bit more.
"Your mind is just consumed by the pace, the gap and the tyres. This is just a constant equation in your head, and when it's comes off you're pretty happy."
Payback for Silverstone
The #26 G-Drive started the season opener at Silverstone from pole, but had to settle for fifth after a door on the Oreca 07 came loose.
However, at Spa-Francorchamps it benefited from the #31 Rebellion of Bruno Senna, Nico Prost and Julien Canal, losing a minute due to having to repair a loose telemetry sensor and further time due to a penalty for a collision with the #66 Ford GT.
"It was nice for it to fall our way we had a lot of bad luck," said Lynn. "But also at the end of the day your door coming open is not good enough, so from our side we are happy to put that right."
Lynn reckons without those issues, the fight for the win would have been a "dogfight" between his G-Drive crew and the Rebellion entry.
"I was pretty certain when I got in the car it was going to be a dogfight between ourselves and the #31," he said. "So in one way I was happy to hear they had the problem, but I did genuinely think it was extremely close the whole time.
"Pierre got passed by Nico Prost very nearly at the end of his stint, but I knew they had a 10-second penalty to take, so from my side it was 'can we keep it in range when we make a full service', and go to Senna.
"It didn't get to that, but I was expecting a big fight."
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