The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season finale will be taking place for the first time in Mexico from 27th – 29th October. The two last races of the year pose a special challenge in many respects for FACH AUTO TECH. In our series “Behind the Scenes” we’ll be showing how our preparations for the new track are proceeding in the calendar.
An overseas race presents many challenges. In addition to the new track and the unfamiliar environment, the unusual journey and the logistics are a particularly tricky assignment. Normally everything is loaded into the truck on a Tuesday before the race (see the detailed overview), so that the journey to the track can start on Wednesday. However, for the journey to Mexico, we unfortunately have to renounce our beloved team truck.
Man and machine will instead be travelling by plane over the Atlantic. A week before the race, we’ll be starting in Stuttgart. Porsche is organizing the logistics for the Mexico event and looking after the transport of all required materials. As weight and loading capacity have more restrictions than for European races, we have to be very careful about taking only the most essential items. A thorough check before departure that nothing has been forgotten is all the more important – on site organization of anything that’s missing is extremely difficult.
After arriving in Central America, it’s off directly to Mexico City and the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The track in the heart of the metropolis will be the scene of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup 2017 season finale for the first time. Preparation for European races involves several test days, guest starts and numerous hours in the simulator before and during the season, when the technical team and the drivers can get a comprehensive impression of the next venue. But here the distance to the team base in Sattel makes test drives and guest starts impossible, which is why the squad has to rely completely on our own simulator.
Before the race, Josh Webster, Glauco Solieri and Matt Campbell will be spending a lot of hours behind the virtual wheel, whereas the engineers and mechanics are dependent on an exchange of information with Formula 1 and WEC teams, in order to prepare the setup. The high altitude of 2285 metres presents the biggest burden for the three Porsche 911 GT3 Cup vehicles, because air pressure and acceleration forces have an even greater influence on the cars’ components and strength.
All teams start under equal conditions. The track is completely unknown territory for the drivers and it will be exciting to see who tunes in fastest to the new circumstances. Our preparations are in full blast and we’re ready for 2017’s last big challenge.