Motorsport, an accelerator of innovation
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 COâ‚‚ emissions, without detracting from the performance that has made the MICHELIN brand a success.
Why we go racing?
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.
WE RACE FOR CHANGE, TO IMPROVE THE WAY WE ALL MOVE
MEET THE TEAM AND DISCOVER HOW WE RACE FOR CHANGE
LE MANS: OUR FAVORITE ARENA FOR INNOVATION FOR 100 YEARS
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:
1923 - 2023: Repeated innovations in favour of long-lasting performance
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 COâ‚‚ 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.
OUR PARTNERS TRUST US
TRUST OUR TIRES ON TRACK OR ON ROAD
LEARN MORE ABOUT WHY MICHELIN:
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
1 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.