Following a season-opening race in Qatar that ran without interruption from safety cars, there is widespread expectation that Imola’s tight and undulating nature may conspire to produce incidents that the open, flowing nature of the Losail International Circuit helped negate.
Imola, which has replaced Monza as the host of Italy’s WEC round for 2024 on what is expected to be a one-off basis during renovation works at the home of the Italian Grand Prix, features tall kerbs that GT3 cars can attack aggressively, whereas the Hypercars are advised to use more caution.
This factor, and the importance afforded to mechanical grip rather than aerodynamics thanks to Imola’s higher proportion of slow corners than in Qatar, means cornering speeds are more evenly matched between the two classes than usual. Overtaking will be difficult, and the comparatively narrow track and grass/gravel beds lining its perimeter will punish any passing attempts not executed correctly.
WRT BMW driver Rene Rast told Autosport: “Qatar is a lot wider, there’s more run-off. If something goes wrong, we have run-off, here you only have gravel.
“Everybody has to be aware, the GT but also the Hypercars, we have to respect each other. For sure it’s going to be tight and we will see probably a bit more contact than in Qatar.”
Toyota driver Nyck de Vries explained that he was “quite amazed at how aggressive the racing was” in Qatar and suggested that risk management will be crucial on Imola’s tight confines, not least because there’s a high chance of rain for the race.
“This is almost the opposite of what you have versus Qatar – that was very high-speed, very flat, long track, a lot of space,” the Dutchman told Autosport.
Source: Autosport