Michelin partners BMW Motorsport ALMS and Nürburgring 24 Hours

Michelin and BMW Motorsport have announced plans to join forces to contest the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2013. According to the two companies, this means the German carmaker’s BMW Z4 GTE and BMW Z4 GT3 cars will run on Michelin ‘Ultimate’ endurance racing tyres. The 2013 programme’s first competitive outing will be the 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida, USA, on 16 March.

“We are delighted to be working together with Michelin, and are confident our teams running the BMW Z4 GTE and BMW Z4 GT3 will benefit from this iconic company’s motorsport experience and from the renowned quality of its tyres,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. The BMW Z4s entered by BMW Motorsport will race on 30/68-18 front and 31/71-18 rear tyres. The slick from the French firm’s ‘Ultimate’ endurance range will be available in a choice of three compounds (hard, medium and soft), but just one type of wet weather tyre will be permitted, in accordance with the ALMS regulations.

“The BMW Z4s will run on our taller front tyre (30/68-18, instead of 30/65-18) to enable our new partner to take full advantage of the benefit of its Michelin tyres in terms of longevity,” said Serge Grisin, the director of Michelin’s racing activities. “In January 2013, we began a series of test sessions that involved working with BMW Motorsport to identify the operating windows and pressures of our different slicks and also work on the set-up of the new BMW Z4. This will allow us to make sure that the tires and car work in perfect harmony together so that the team can derive maximum benefit from the car’s performance potential.”