1. Adaptability to conditions
With a mixture of track conditions having been run so far in the free practice and qualifying sessions, teams have been compromised slightly on consistency of set-up for the laps completed so far. With the weather forecast predicting a chance of showers, the drivers and crews will be kept on their toes throughout the six hours. Whatever happens the winners will almost certainly be the fans both at the track and watching on TV.
2. Tyres
Apart from the weather, tyre management as ever, will be absolutely critical. Will the Michelin Hybrid tyres be used and who will excel. Will the dry tyres be able to take double stints comfortably in the first few hours when the track is the hottest? And how will the Michelin v Dunlop fight go in LMP2.
3. Running in to the dark….and the unknown
This will be the first time the FIA World Endurance Championship has raced in to the night at COTA. The lighting system is new and the drivers will literally be racing in to the dark
4. Reliability
It may seem odd to watch out for any reliability issues in a race that is one quarter of the Le Mans 24 Hours. However, the intense humidity and demanding nature of the COTA track will test all the systems on the LMP1-H cars. As always the FIA World Endurance remains the ultimate test of man and machine.
5. The title chases
All of the category points tables are wide open and with 125 race points and 5 pole points available. With racing so close in 2014 the anticipation is high that many of the title fights will go right down to the final race at Interlagos in November.
Sam Smith
