Michelin makes 18-inch Pilot Sport S9L tyre for new Renault Sport RS 01

Michelin will provide Renault Sport with a new 18-inch Pilot Sport S9L tyre for new Renault Sport RS 01 as part of its association with the World Series by Renault (WSR). Based on Michelin’s so-called ‘customer competition’ range, the tyre will also be available for all GT3 competitors from 2015.

Michelin will provide Renault Sport with two sizes of the Pilot Sport S9L – 30-68×18 for the front wheels and 31-71×18 for the rear. According to the company, the decision to fit an 18-inch tyre is in-line with Michelin’s desire to see as many parallels as possible between racing and road tyres. In this way, new technologies developed for motorsport can be carried over more swiftly to its road tyres.

Philippe Mussati the Clermont-Ferrand firm’s customer competition programmes manager, explained: “We found ourselves faced with the sort of challenge we love at Michelin because Renault Sport set the bar extremely high with its new car which boasts an exceptional performance pedigree. We are proud to have succeeded in meeting the exacting demands with regard to its high power output and torque. In addition to delivering outright performance, we were also asked to dial in consistency and to make sure that the Pilot Sport S9L was easy for the drivers to manage, since the R.S. 01’s programme is based on a combination of sprint and endurance races. Indeed, competitors will only be permitted to use two sets per sprint race, so that called for a blend of durability and consistent delivery of performance lap after lap.

“Technically, it was a tough task and our team set to work to match the Michelin Pilot Sport S9L to the demands of this brand new car and its use for racing purposes. The Michelin will provide Renault Sport with a new 18-inch Pilot Sport S9L tyre for new Renault Sport RS 01 as part of its association with the World Series by Renault (WSR). Based on Michelin’s so-called ‘customer competition’ range, the tyre will also be available for all GT3 competitors from 2015. Total Performance strategy, which consists of taking all the parameters that contribute to tyre performance forward at the same time, with no detriment any one of those parameters, or to quality, gave us the means to meet the challenge. I would also like to underline the perfect synergy that developed between our engineers and their counterparts at Renault Sport which contributed to the end result.”