Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the 1-2-3 finish achieved by the Ford GT at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and to mark the occasion Ford is returning to the endurance race with an all-new vehicle bearing the Ford GT name. At a recent press conference, Ford shared that it will work towards this goal with Michelin as its exclusive tyre technology partner.
Goodyear will not make a Formula One comeback in 2017, while Dunlop has reaffirmed its commitment to endurance and touring car racing. The manufacturer’s statements come on the 17 June tender deadline, following Michelin Motorsport director Pascal Couasnon’s confirmation that the French manufacturer had submitted an official application.
It appears that Michelin has thrown its hat back into the Formula 1 ring. Michelin Motorsport has retweeted comments its director made to Motorsport.com confirming its submission of a F1 tyre supply bid ahead of the 17 June tender deadline. Pascal Couasnon shared that Michelin decided to enter the running in the hope that the championship would take a new direction in regards to tyres.
In October 2014, Michelin and Renault Sport announced they would jointly develop 17- and 18-inch diameter tyres for the single-seat Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 3.5 cars that compete in the WSR (World Series by Renault). After three quarters of a year, the partners’ conclusion is that replacing the 13-inch tyres now in use with the two larger sizes is “a first-class solution to make driving more enjoyable still for competitors.”
Last week’s Monaco Grand Prix delivered Nico Rosberg his third victory in a row at the track, and prior to the race the Circuit de Monaco was also host to 18-inch tyre demonstrations for two F1 feeder championships. Pirelli showed off its larger diameter race-ready GP2 rubber while Renault Sport Technologies fielded a Formula Renault 3.5 car fitted with 18-inch Michelin tyres. These demonstrations are significant given both tyre makers’ views on the direction F1 tyre evolution should take, a topic of particular interest now that tenders are open for F1 tyre supply between 2017 and 2019.
Michelin will develop and provide solutions to Nissan’s LM P1 endurance racing programme as the manufacturer’s tyre partner. The Nissan GT-R LM Nismo will race on Michelin 31/71-16 (front) and 20/71-16 (rear) tyres.
The 2015 Rallye Monte-Carlo saw Sébastien Loeb (Citroën DS3 WRC) and defending world champion Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) clash for the first time this World Rally Championship season. Changing conditions meant competitors needed to use tyres strategically, with Michelin, one of four current tyre suppliers, talking about a broad variety of combinations of its asphalt and studded/non-studded winter tyres in use.
Comments from Pascal Couasnon are certain to build on speculation that Michelin will, at some stage, return to Formula One. The tyre maker’s motorsports director shared with French website toilef1.com that Michelin may soften its previous stance on sole tyre supply – while Couasnon indicated a preference for multiple tyre suppliers, he told toilef1.com that “we are ready to go it alone” should the applicable regulations be agreeable to Michelin. He also touched on the other points on Michelin’s wish list: F1 tyre dimensions that enable a level of technology transfer to road tyres, and the opportunity to develop F1 tyres that are not only stable and fast, but also long-lasting. Referring indirectly to Pirelli’s experience as Formula One tyre supplier, Couasnon commented “we need the tyre not to be an object of show, but an object of technology.”
A month from now, 40 electric racing cars will line up on the grid at the inaugural Formula E Championship race in Beijing. Each of the tyres that take to the track on 13 September will be fitted with identical tyres that were specifically developed for the competition. In a Michelin-hosted Q&A session, the company’s motorsport director Pascal Couasnon explains that the decision that all cars should run on Pilot Sport EV tyres was not simply a strategic option in technology terms; he says it was also an obvious choice.
The Michelin shod Audi Sport Team Joest and the Dunlop supplied Jota Sport teams were among the class winners at the 82nd Le Mans 24H. The race was won outright by the LM P1 class No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron Quattro was driven by Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer – their third victory as a trio – in front of 263,300 spectators over the weekend of 14-15 June.
As the technical partner of Porsche’s endurance racing programme, Michelin played its part in the development of the new Porsche 919 Hybrid by designing specially-adapted tyres for the LMP1 class prototype. In compliance with the 2014 sporting regulations for the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) and Le Mans, tyres are size 31/71-18 on both the front and the rear. Developed on a simulator for all of the firm’s LMP1 partners, the Michelin tyres on the Porsche 919 Hybrid were refined during testing sessions conducted jointly between the two firms’ technical teams.
Pascal Couasnon is to take over as director of the Michelin Group’s Competitions Department upon Nick Shorrock’s retirement on 2 April, 2012, the tyre maker has announced. The 50-year old, who joined the Michelin Group in 1987, currently holds the position of director of technical and scientific communication in the company’s Communications and Brands Department, a role he commenced in 2010.
