To pull off its 35th victory in the world’s most famous 24-hour race, the French brand is counting upon its latest MICHELIN Pilot Sport Endurance range, which its eight partners will run in the headlining Hypercar category.
Back in 1923, Michelin won the inaugural edition of the twice-round-the-clock contest thanks to its removable tyre – a cutting-edge innovation of its day. More than 100 years later, the manufacturer continues to break new ground with its range of bespoke tyres containing 50 per cent renewable or recycled materials.
Michelin has always regarded Le Mans as a unique accelerator of technological innovation, where advanced solutions can be put through their paces in a competitive, extremely exacting arena. At the same time, its long-time involvement in endurance racing dovetails perfectly with Groupe Michelin’s ‘All Sustainable’ approach, with the aim of ensuring all of its tyres incorporate renewable or recycled raw materials alone by 2050, with an interim objective of 40 per cent by 2030.
In 2021, Michelin Motorsport accordingly revealed a demonstration tyre that featured 46 per cent such materials fitted to the hydrogen-fuelled H24 racing prototype. Five years on, the proportion of ingredients ranging from rice husk and sunflower oil to natural rubber and recycled steel that go into its current-generation MICHELIN Pilot Sport Endurance slicks has reached 50 per cent. These are products that the 18 Hypercars entered for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans will actually race.
“Our latest endurance racing tyres were developed using sophisticated simulation technology before being signed off following an extensive test programme in Europe and the USA,” reveals Pierre Alves, manager of Michelin Motorsport’s endurance racing programmes.
“They have since confirmed the significant progress we have achieved in terms of warm-up performance and wider temperature windows in the opening rounds of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship.
“The soft MICHELIN Pilot Sport Endurance slick now covers track temperatures of up to nearly 30°C, while the medium performs strongly down to 15°C. This means the two compounds are comparable from 15°C to 25°C, which in turn gives the teams more strategy options. At low-wear circuits like Le Mans, this degree of versatility is clearly a huge asset.”
Each Hypercar prototype is authorised to use up to 56 slicks (soft, medium or hard) during the race. “Our recommendation to our partners is to favour triple stints, which is equivalent to more than 500 kilometers on the same set,” explains Alves. “That said, those who prefer to explore more ‘aggressive’ alternatives know they can count on the advice of our experienced technicians who work within the different Hypercar teams.”
Ferrari is on a run of three straight Le Mans victories, Toyota is counting on its new TR010 Hybrid to help it return to winning ways at La Sarthe while both Cadillac and BMW shone in Hyperpole on Thursday night and will share the front row of the grid for the 94th running of the race, which will get underway at 16:00 CEST today (Saturday, 13 June).
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