Michelin tyres win first 18-inch victory in single seater Formula E series

Michelin is claiming motor racing history after securing the first victory for an 18-inch tyre in an FIA single-seater championship during the latest round of the Formula E championship, the Malaysia cauldron.

Michelin FIA Formula E programme manager Serge GRISIN explained: “We spent much of the morning keeping an eye on the sky because there was a very high risk of rain which would have given our tyres a chance to reveal their grip and versatility in the wet. As the start approached, though, we realised that our biggest challenge would, in fact, be the sunshine which heated the track surface to 45°C. With only one set of tyres authorised per car for the entire day, the Michelin Pilot Sport EV clearly faced a tough test but it rose to the occasion perfectly and successfully delivered consistent performance throughout with absolutely no fall-off in performance towards the end.”

The race’s grid order wasn’t identical to that on the timing screens, since Nicolas Prost was relegated to 11th spot because of the 10-place penalty he was awarded following his last-turn tangle with Nick Heidfeld (Venturi) in the championship’s Chinese opener. Meanwhile, Jérôme D’Ambrosio was dropped to the back of the grid, which meant that the front row was finally shared by Oriol Servia and Sam Bird (Virgin Racing), with Daniel Abt third.

Daniel Abt ended up winning with Lucas Di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT) and Bruno Senna (Mahindra Racing) taking advantage of the situation to emerge in second and third spots. The Brazilian eventually crashed out of the race trying to wrestle third place from Sébastien BUEMI (e.Dams- Renault) on the last lap.

According to Michelin, the podium celebrations at the end of the second round of the 2014/2015 FIA Formula E Championship starred Sam Bird, Lucas Di Grassi and Sébastien Buemi.

The next round of the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship will take teams to Punta del Este in Uruguay on 13 December.