Michelin’s new Hypercar-generation tires ready for Le Mans debut

Having triumphed at Le Mans with a variety of petrol, diesel and hybrid prototypes over the past 20 or so years, Michelin is poised to kick off a new era as the famous French circuit prepares to host the latest-generation Hypercars equipped with an all-new range of specific MICHELIN Pilot Sport tires.

Instead of the race’s usual June slot, this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours - the first to star the exciting new Hypercars - is taking place in August due to the pandemic situation.

The FIA WEC season’s longest and fastest venue (13.626km, and average speeds of around 240kph) will see five of the new-generation prototypes in action this week, all competing on bespoke MICHELIN Pilot Sport tires.

“The development of our latest endurance racing tires began at the end of 2019 and lasted 10 months,” says Pierre Alves, the manager of Michelin Motorsport’s endurance racing program. “By using CAD [Computer Assisted Design) and simulator technology while the teams concerned were developing their respective cars also entirely virtually, we were able to halve the development period and divide costs by four. At the time of last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours last September, neither the new Hypercar prototypes nor their MICHELIN Pilot Sports actually existed.”

It was only last autumn that the first of the new Hypercars to hit the ground and Michelin’s latest tires made their track debut. Since then, they have undergone a busy test program and won the first three rounds of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship.

“The results our tires obtained in testing and at the FIA WEC rounds at Spa-Francorchamps, Portimao and Monza were in-line with our forecasts in terms of their performance and longevity. We consequently feel confident ahead of Le Mans, despite it being one of the motor racing’s biggest and most unpredictable challenges.”

This year’s Hypercar field at Le Mans features two Toyota GR010 Hybrids, a brace of Glickenhaus 007 LMHs and an Alpine A480 which will spearhead Michelin’s attempt to extend its record-beating run of 23 victories on the trot since 1998.

Michelin is also providing the rubber for all of the eight LM GTE Pro and 23 LM GTE Am cars which represent such prestigious makes as Ferrari, Porsche, Corvette and Aston Martin.

The pre-Le Mans Test Day takes place on Sunday, August 15, followed by official practice sessions the following Wednesday and Thursday. The race itself starts at 4pm on Saturday, August 21, with the cars flagged away by Ferrari president John Elkann, and with multiple Le Mans-winner Derek Bell serving as this year’s Grand Marshal.