Le Mans – “the hardest race in the world for tyres”

The famed 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race sees dozens of cars across three categories race at speeds of up to 330 km/h non-stop for a whole day in-front of a live audience numbering around 300,000. Its spectacular, yes. But it is more than just a spectacle. Michelin’s motorsport endeavours – embodied by its unparalleled history of supporting victory at Le Mans – exemplify the so-called racetrack-to-road philosophy. However, in addition to outright performance gains – which are clearly the foundation of Michelin’s work in top-flight racing series and events like Le Mans – Michelin is also working to develop road-orientated sustainability benefits at the same time.
The 93rd edition of the iconic endurance race was held on 14-15 June and Ferrari’s #83 AF Corse team, driven by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Phil Hanson Ferrari team will be remembered for winning. Indeed, Ferrari won first, third and fourth places, bringing in a significant points haul for the manufacturers championship in this double-points-scoring race.
An amazing highlight of the race, which looked set to be a Ferrari podium for much of the 24 hours, was seeing the #6 Porsche Penske 963, driven by Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, and Matt Campbell take second place despite starting in 21st – or dead last – due to a qualifying disqualification. In addition, one of the Hertz Team Jota Racing Cadillacs, which locked out the front row in qualifying, finished fifth – specifically, the #12 Jota V-Series.R. And then there’s the LMP2 and GT3 categories…
However, even that doesn’t tell the whole story of how intense the driving pressures were, how much is required of the tyres to both perform at that level and endure to the very end. The pleas of engineers to the leading drivers as they passed 350-odd laps across the team radio to hang on – explicitly in the confidence that the tyres exclusively supplied by Michelin will perform to the end of extended and podium-winning stints – does a better job.
At 24 Hours of Le Mans 2025, Tyres & Accessories spoke with Michelin motorsport global director, Matthieu Bonardel; and Serge Lafon, Michelin’s president of business line automotive OE; as well as racing team crews themselves, plus the indispensable tyre technicians; and heard their first-hand experience of the critical nature of tyres to racing teams from the racetrack and the pitlane and from there to the roads.
Read the complete articles featuring with the aforementioned senior Michelin executives in the forthcoming July edition of Tyres & Accessories magazine as well online at tyrepress.com.
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