Choose a language
H24 Green GT prototype

WE RACE FOR CHANGE

Motorsport, an accelerator of innovation
#WeRaceForChange

WHY WE GO RACING?

Over the decades, we are proud to have globally demonstrated the performance of our racing tires. Today, the nature of motorsport has changed, however.   

The colossal challenge we face is to develop All Sustainable mass-market tires whose design and production have a limited impact on the Earth's resources, biodiversity and CO₂ emissions, without detracting from the performance that has made the MICHELIN brand a success.  

More than ever, motor racing serves as an invaluable accelerator of technological innovation. The extreme conditions that are inherent in motorsport provide us with an opportunity to innovate, experiment in record time, learn, create new solutions and accelerate the development of sustainable solutions that are of benefit to everyone.

Motorsport, an accelerator of innovation #WeRaceForChange

WE RACE FOR CHANGE, TO IMPROVE THE WAY WE ALL MOVE

We race for change - Performance made to last

We go racing in order to provide our partners with performance that lasts from the start to the finish line of races. Our commitment to you is to deliver outstanding driving experience that lasts from the first mile to the last thanks to tires that can to be trusted .

We race for change - Sustainable materials

We go racing in order to rise to new challenges. Our tires contain increasingly higher proportions of biosourced and recycled raw materials (1). The advanced materials we develop in motorsport will go on to benefit all MICHELIN tires from 2025.

We race for change - simulation

We go racing to find answers, simulate, learn from data science and surpass ourselves. Our use of simulation engineering in motorsport is in the process of being extended to tire production, resulting in significant resources and CO2 emissions savings.

LE MANS: OUR FAVORITE ARENA FOR INNOVATION FOR 100 YEARS

Michelin innovations through the history of the 24H of Le Mans #WeRaceForChange

The Le Mans 24 Hours - which takes place on roads normally open to everyday traffic - submits our tires to exceptional challenges, from the track's uneven surface, to sudden weather and temperature changes. Yet our tires must deliver flawless, perfectly-balanced performance, as well as safety, grip and versatility from the start of the race until the finish line!

Innovations that have changed mobility:

The winner of the inaugural Le Mans 24 Hours was a Chenard & Walcker

Demountable tire

1923: The winner of the inaugural Le Mans 24 Hours was a Chenard & Walcker fitted with MICHELIN tires. It completed the race at an average speed of 57mph. Removable tires revolutionised mobility by combining resilience, long life, comfort and user-friendliness.

A Lancia B20 GT won its class on radial tyres at the 1951 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Radial tire

1951: Patented in 1946 and marketed from 1949, MICHELIN X tires featured a revolutionary radial carcass incorporating metal belts for long-lasting safety, comfort and fuel economy. A Lancia B20 GT won its class on radial tires at the 1951 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Michelin was the first to race slick tyres at Le Mans

Slick tire

1967: Michelin was the first to race slick tires at Le Mans. Their entirely smooth, pattern-free tread provided superior grip in dry conditions. Slicks made an immediate impact, with the Alpine A210 completing a lap in under four minutes for the first time in its class before going on to win the P1.6 classification.

Alpine A442, the 1978 Le Mans winner

High performance tire

1978: The Renault-Alpine A442B's victory at Le Mans in 1978 equipped with high-performance MICHELIN radial tires underlined the technology's extraordinary value. The result was followed by success in Formula 1, providing additional evidence of the superiority of radial tires and contributing to the technology becoming the industry norm worldwide.

Technological developments like the progress made in power-plant technology, from petrol and diesel engines to hybrid power units, the introduction of disc brakes and increasingly sophisticated aerodynamics all posed fresh challenges for tires. They needed to adapt to bigger constraints, including higher power outputs, loads and torque, while at the same time providing superior efficiency.  Michelin’s winning record at Le Mans has matched the incredible revolution the race has seen in terms of performance. In the last 10 years alone, it has helped the headlining LMP1 prototypes to complete up to 466 miles on a single set of tires at an average speed of 149mph. That’s equivalent to the more than the distance covered by two Formula 1 grands prix!

Le Mans 2023: we continue to innovate for a sustainable future

The centenary Le Mans 24 Hours will be no exception with regard to Michelin innovations:

  • The latest MICHELIN Pilot Sport Endurance Slicks and Wets conceived for today's exciting Hypercar prototypes were designed entirely virtually using simulator technology. The process has now been extended to the development of mass-market tires, resulting in significant resource and CO₂ emissions savings.
     
  • This year, we will be unveiling a racing tire that contains 63% sustainable materials (bio-based renewable or recycled materials) for GreenGT's hydrogen prototype and the all-electric Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance.  This achievement was made possible thanks to our knowledge of sustainable materials in the context of tires, with no detriment to either their performance or overall environmental impact.

 

Racing tyre that contains 63% sustainable materials
Designed to win

OUR TiRES ARE DESIGNED TO WIN

We are the tire manufacturer with the most victories in the Major FIA and FIM World championships over the last 50 years

OUR PARTNERS TRUST US

TRUST OUR TIRES ON TRACK OR ON ROAD

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHY MICHELIN:

Subscribe to our newsletter

for the latest special offers, product launches and road safety tips.

This field is invalid

LEGAL MENTIONS

(1) Michelin considers sustainable materials to be either recycled materials or bio-sourced materials renewable on the timescale of a human life, and which do not compete with the food sector. Michelin does not consider natural materials which are non-renewable on the timescale of a human life to be sustainable - such as oil. As such, some materials, although of natural mineral origin, such as silica, are not taken into account in the Michelin definition of a “sustainable material”. Recycled materials are the raw materials generated by any recycling operation by which industrial or post-consumption waste is reprocessed into products, materials, or substances. Energy reuse and the reprocessing of materials for use as energy are excluded. (Based on the definition of the European Directive for Waste). 

 

Copyrights: MICHELIN, F. LE FLOCH / DPPI, F. FLAMAND / DPPI, F. GOODEN, T. GROMIK, C. MARIN, C. SAULNIER / DPPI, DPPI /MICHELIN, L’Equipe/Presse Sports, SIPA / MICHELIN

 

Your card is a prepaid Mastercard® that can be used anywhere that Mastercard® is accepted, including mail order, online, telephone and point of sale retail merchants, subject to the terms of this Agreement. The funds loaded onto the Card by Group O (“Program Sponsor”) and the balance on the card are not a deposit, and they do not establish a separate individual deposit account at Peoples Trust or any other Canadian financial institution. You will not receive interest on the balance nor on any funds loaded onto the card by the Program Sponsor.

You are using an unsupported web browser
You are using a website browser that is not supported by this website. This means that some functionnality may not work as intented. This may result in strange behaviors when browsing round. Use or updgrade/install one of the following browsers to take full advantage of this website