Michelin helps Porsche clinch top endurance honours in Bahrain

Porsche’s success in the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) has been supported by its tyre partner, Michelin. The Stuttgart marque claimed top prizes in the LM P1 and LM GTE Pro classes this year, following its return to world class endurance racing in 2014 after a year of pressure from fellow Michelin runners Audi (in LM P1) and Ferrari (in LM GTE Pro). Michelin states that it provided tyres developed to meet the specific needs of its different manufacturer teams in the championship, which permits open competition between tyre firms.

“I would like to congratulate Porsche on its different titles and I am proud of the role Michelin played in its success,” said Michelin motorsport director Pascal Couasnon. “We work closely with all of our partners and we were at their side throughout this year’s FIA WEC which was of an extremely high level in both sporting and technological terms. It’s important to remember that this year’s cars marked a big step forward, especially the LM P1 prototypes which boasted power outputs and aerodynamic downforce of an unprecedented level.”

Michelin states that the performance, durability and versatility of its 2015 endurance racing tyres were illustrated by this season’s action. They were required to deliver high grip in cold weather at Silverstone and Spa, quadruple-plus stints in LM P1 at Le Mans, and consistency in double stints at the season’s most high temperature circuits.

Although the N°92 Porsche 911 RSR of Pilet/Makowiecki failed to figure well in qualifying, it went on to dominate the race

“Once again, the 6 Hours of Bahrain showcased Michelin’s capacity to develop tyres that match the different needs of its partners and the specific challenge of each circuit,” said Jérôme Mondain, manager of Michelin’s endurance racing programme. “The bigger selection we had in Bahrain enabled Audi and Porsche to run different race strategies and offset pit-stop schedules.”

“It’s been a successful year in terms of the lessons we have learnt and the titles we have won,” concludes Pascal Couasnon, “but Michelin is already preparing for 2016 when the GTE Pro cars will not only be more powerful but will also generate between 10 and 15 percent more aerodynamic downforce. There will be improvements to the LM P1 cars, too, and our development engineers are already working on these changes.”