Pierre Alves, Michelin Motorsport’s Endurance Program Manager, says that the 2021 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is uncharted territory for the tyre manufacturer, as its Hypercar tyres make their debut at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Michelin is the exclusive tyre supplier for the Hypercar category, meaning that all five cars from Toyota, Glickenhaus and Alpine run on Michelin’s new Pilot Sport hypercar compound.
The Hypercar tyre range was developed entirely through the use of simulators and CAD (computer aided design) technology. Coupled with the limited test options at the Circuit de la Sarthe, this means that Michelin’s new compound will not have seen physical action at Le Mans prior to Sunday’s Test Day.
“For Michelin Motorsport, this year’s race is uncharted territory,” said Alves. “Our new Pilot Sport hypercar range has only ever lapped Le Mans on the simulator, because there is no opportunity to test around the full 13.626-kilometer track away from race week.”
“We are nonetheless confident because the performance of these new tires at the early FIA WEC rounds at Spa-Francorchamps, Portimao and
Monza corresponded with our estimates at the end of the design and development phase which was entirely done virtually.”
“This is the first time that both the cars and their tires have been developed by computer in parallel,” Alves emphasizes. “A year ago, the Michelin Pilot Sport and Toyota and Glickenhaus hypercars only existed in virtual form!”
“This technological feat by Michelin Motorsport’s engineers and their Michelin Technology Center colleagues not only saved time but also divided costs and the quantity of materials required by four, thereby reducing the development phase’s environmental footprint.”
Michelin is the tyre supplier for three out of four categories racing at Le Mans, with LMP2 having its tyres supplied by Goodyear. This means that the majority (36 out of 62) of cars at Le Mans run on Michelin tyres.
In total, to supply its three categories with sufficient tyres for the entire week, the French firm estimates that it is bringing approximately 7,000 tyres to the circuit.
Hypercar squads have a tyre quota of 24 for practice, qualifying and warm-up and 8 for Hyperpole. For the race, that number sits at 48.
In contrast, GTE Pro and GTE Am have slightly more practice and qualifying tyres (28) and significantly more tyres available during the race: 60 tyres. The amount for Hyperpole is identical between all three classes.
In addition to the unknown factor of running a digitally developed tyre at Le Mans for the first time, Alves points at another challenge for this edition of Le Mans: the later date.
The 89th edition of the French endurance classic is held in August as opposed to the traditional date in June, meaning temperatures will likely be higher.
“For the first time, the Le Mans 24 Hours is being held in August, so we can expect hotter weather compared with the traditional mid-June date. Records suggest an average of 26°C instead of 23°C. There will also be two extra hours of darkness than in June.”
