Christopher Mies (32/Heiligenhaus), the 2016 ADAC GT Masters champion, analyses the Zandvoort circuit, which was remodelled in 2019/2020. The German GT Championship visits the iconic Dutch circuit, which opened in 1948, for races five and six of the season on 10th and 11th July.
Christopher Mies lines up alongside Ricardo Feller (21/CH) in an Audi R8 LMS for Montaplast by Land-Motorsport. He won one race in Zandvoort in 2017. Mies also secured pole position and set the fastest lap of the race on his last ADAC GT Masters appearance in the Netherlands in 2019.
First and most important impression after the remodelling
Christopher Mies: “The most striking and noticeable thing when driving are the two new banked corners, the likes of which you usually only find at oval circuits in the USA. It is cool that we now have something like this in Europe too. The banked corners at the Lausitzring are no longer fully used. And the Carousel on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife is also nothing like the two new banked corners in Zandvoort.”
Zandvoort’s new banked corners in detail
Christopher Mies: “You can easily take the banked corner leading onto the finishing straight at full throttle in a GT3 car – even in the rain. The track in this sweeping right-hander rises at an angle of 18 degrees to the outside of the turn. This means the centrifugal forces work downwards rather than laterally, thus producing very stable downforce. There is still only one ideal racing line in the final corner in Zandvoort. The first of the two banked corners is now the tight, 180-degree hairpin, which runs through the middle of the paddock on the rear side of the start/finish straight. The slope to the outside of the corner now means that you can take more than one line. This results in a lot of battles for position in the race – as I have experienced for myself. This point is THE overtaking spot in Zandvoort. Furthermore, the radius, which has been expanded slightly, allows you to exit the corner 10 to 15 km/h faster in a GT3 car. This means you are noticeably faster up the hill and into the rapid section through the dunes. Anyone who takes the faster line out of the corner now has an overtaking opportunity heading up the hill.”
No gravel bed at the Tarzan corner
Christopher Mies: “I definitely do not take more risk than I used to through the Tarzan corner at the end of the start/finish straight in Zandvoort. Even if the gravel bed that used to be on the outside of the bend has now been replaced by an area of asphalt, which means that you are no longer immediately out of the race if you come off the track. There is only one optimal line through this 180-degree corner. If you are too fast and do not hit the racing line, you lose a lot of time.”
New crunch point: pit lane exit
Christopher Mies: “The pit lane exit in Zandvoort is now located after the Tarzan corner, rather than before it. This means that your speed is limited for much longer as you leave the pits. The total length of the pit stop is thus longer. This can make early stops a bit problematic. You run the risk of being lapped early on. If there is then a safety car phase shortly thereafter, you have a really big problem. As such, race strategy is now a bigger challenge in Zandvoort.”
Tyre wear is even more critical
Christopher Mies: “The new asphalt, and the old asphalt in the later section of the circuit, are very aggressive. This makes for very high tyre wear in Zandvoort. That has always been the case, but the possible higher speeds now increase tyre wear by an estimated ten percent. This means you can manage a maximum two flying laps in qualifying on fresh tyres with optimal grip. In the race, you need a set-up that looks after the tyres far better than previously. Otherwise, you will have to come in for your first tyre change after about twenty minutes.”
Overtaking easier in places
Christopher Mies: “The first new banked corner, as mentioned previously, is not the only place where there are new overtaking opportunities in Zandvoort. Coming into the Tarzan corner, you can now benefit from the slipstream of the car in front for longer. The explanation for this: the higher speeds, made possible by the large, banked corner ahead of the start/finish, require you to brake about ten metres earlier than before. This means the deceleration phase is a little longer. That gives you more room and time to pull alongside your rival and attempt to pass him. Despite this, overtaking in Zandvoort is still tougher than elsewhere. The many slow corners make it relatively easy to defend against attacks from behind. You still have to be much faster than the car in front of you to have a chance of overtaking it.”
Summary
Christopher Mies: “The remodelled Zandvoort circuit is faster thanks to the two new banked corners. That makes overtaking easier and tyre wear higher than it was previously. That, in turn, definitely makes the races there more exciting for us drivers and the fans.”