Michelin marks 100 years of Le Mans with #WeRaceForChange campaign

Tyre manufacturer calls motorsport ‘a unique accelerator of sustainable innovation’ as it introduces a 63% sustainable material racing tyre

Selected Michelin innovations at Le Mans

• 1923 – Triumph for Chenard & Walcker on removable Michelin
• 1951 – First radial tyre to compete in topflight racing
• 1967 – First appearance of groove-less slick tyres
• 2005 – Tyres for the the Audi R10 TDI, the first diesel prototype to race at Le Mans
• 2014 – Smaller tyres for the LM P1 prototypes (5cm to 6cm narrower, 15% lighter)
• 2014 – The Michelin Hybrid ‘intermediate slick’
• 2021 – The tyres for the new Hypercar class developed entirely on the simulator

Michelin and the ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest) are celebrating the centenary of the Le Mans 24 Hours in June 2023. The tyre manufacturer is marking the occasion by reviewing its innovations made in conjunction with this partnership, while also looking towards the future of top-level motorsport in the context of increasingly prevalent and important sustainability considerations. The tyre manufacturer has committed to the use of fully sustainable materials across its entire range of tyres by 2050. Looking both to its history of innovation and current developments, such as the 63 percent sustainable material tyre it has developed for Green GT’s H24 hydrogen-powered racing prototype, Michelin makes the case for motorsport as “a unique accelerator of sustainable innovation,” and a suitable proving ground for technologies that lead tyre innovation in this area.

Michelin says that Le Mans 24 Hours is “a unique challenge… capable of accelerating the emergence of sustainable innovations.” The uncompromising nature of motorsport in general and of Le Mans in particular, not to mention the production-flexibility they necessitate and the value of the data they provide across an incomparably wide spectrum of situations, make racing an increasingly pertinent means to address the mobility and environmental issues we face today.

For the centenary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Michelin is promoting its new #WeRaceForChange campaign, especially in the circuit’s spectator village. Michelin wants to explain the extent to which motorsport contributes to innovation, with a special focus on the different professions and areas of activity it mobilises. Ultimately it wants its racing activities to be viewed as more than just titles and trophies; a way to shape future mobility. Michelin’s stand will chronicle its innovations, with a display showing the new tyre incorporating 63 percent sustainable materials it has developed for Green GT’s H24 hydrogen-powered racing prototype.

Simulation-led development

Simulation is increasingly important in tyre development, and Michelin says its tyres for the new Hypercar class were conceived entirely on the simulator (Photo: Michelin)

On-track, Michelin has produced a brand-new range of tyres for endurance racing’s Hypercar class conceived exclusively on the simulator. Michelin’s capacity to accurately replicate the behaviour of its tyres in digital form stems from its extensive database and ability to process smart data using the most sophisticated mathematical algorithms.

More than two decades’ experience of advanced simulation technology has helped Michelin to produce Tame Tire, its encrypted thermo-mechanical modelling tool for tyres. By dynamically reproducing the effects temperature fluctuations have on raw materials and tyre pressures on the racetrack, Michelin says Tame Tire is making a significant contribution to the development of not only racing tyres, but also tyres for today’s high performance road cars.

Furthermore, it enables the way tyres and chassis interact to be analysed as manufacturers step up the electrification of their ranges, including how the weight-distribution and load characteristics of their respective models vary during use.

To further boost its digital capacity, Michelin recently acquired the British company Canopy Simulations, a specialist in the field of lap-time simulation. Its unique expertise is enhanced by the trajectory simulator it has developed to add a high-performance ‘virtual-driver’ factor into the equation. This know-how is enabling Michelin to accelerate its research and development programme by giving these ‘virtual drivers’ standardised tasks that are currently performed by real drivers on dynamic simulators.

Michelin has also revived the Michelin Café, situated at the northern end of the circuit’s Media Office, for media pass holders.

Michelin is bringing a wide range of tyres to the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours. 37 of the 62 cars entered for the centenary Le Mans 24 Hours are racing on Michelin. Overall, Michelin will supply 8,000 tyres to the event. These include:

• Michelin’s latest Hypercar tyre range, which is competing at Le Mans for the first time.
• A choice of three colour-coded MICHELIN Pilot Sport slicks:
  • White sidewall marking: soft compound,
  • Yellow sidewall marking: medium compound,
  • red sidewall marking: hard compound.
• A single, particularly versatile new MICHELIN Pilot Sport WET for the Hypercar prototypes, instead of the availability of two wet-weather options previously.
• Michelin’s range for the LM GTE Am cars is identical to that seen in 2022.