gaijin
06-09-2004, 12:26 PM
AMERICAN TEAMS AND DRIVERS LOOK TO MICHELIN FOR SUCCESS AT LE MANS
by Phil Romba
LE MANS, France – American teams and drivers have a strong chance of winning every class in the world's greatest endurance event next weekend - the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.
America has held a fascination with the event for many years, even pre-dating Steve McQueen's 1971 movie "Le Mans." This fascination has grown in recent years with the launch of the American Le Mans Series which utilizes the same rules and regulations which govern the fabled French event.
With the success of the series and subsequent victories by the factory Corvette squad in 2001 and '02 at Le Mans, this year's 24 Hour event will feature nine cars entered by American teams and 14 drivers with an American passport.
American favorites equipped with Michelin tires in each class include Florida-based Champion Racing Audi R8 entry in P1, West Palm Beach driver Gunnar Jeannette in the Epsilom Sport Courage in P2, the Detroit-based factory Corvette team in GTS and leading GT entries Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing (Las Vegas), BAM Motorsport/Orbit Racing (Stuart, Fla.) and Racers Group (Sonoma, Calif.).
Much of the hope of an American success at Le Mans rest with Michelin-equipped teams with seven of the nine U.S. entered cars running on Michelin tires. At the preliminary test day at Le Mans on April 25, the U.S. squads excelled. Champion Racing's Audi R8 of JJ Lehto, Marco Werner and three-time Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro were third fastest for outright honors with a time of 3 minutes, 34.176 seconds.
After starring for Panoz in last year's event with a run to fifth place outright, Gunnar Jeannette (pictured right) has assumed the role as lead driver for the Epsilom Sport Courage team. The young Florida driver was fourth fastest in the P2 class on the test day and completed an amazing run of endurance and durability - the team running the entire day on a single set of tires!
The Corvette squad smashed the lap record in the GTS division with Max Papis leading the charge - recording a lap nine seconds faster than their best achieved last year. Corvette is racing on Michelin for the first time at Le Mans in 2004. Last year on another tire brand, the team suffered a 10-lap defeat to the Michelin-equipped Prodrive Ferrari team.
American teams were 1-2 on the practice day on Michelin tires in the GT class with Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning heading the BAM Motorsports/Orbit Racing combination (pictured right). The Racer's Group entry is also no stranger to success at Le Mans with team owner Kevin Buckler having previously won the GT class at Le Mans in 2002 on Michelin tires.
"We are very proud of our teams from the American Le Mans Series for rising to the challenge of competing at Le Mans," said Amanda Head, Michelin motorsports marketing manager.
"The race is steeped in tradition and just to be invited to compete is a real honor. The fact that so many teams from the ALMS have had their entries accepted is a real credit to the championship.
"Michelin is proud of its role in helping develop the ALMS as one of the world's most fiercely contested sportscar competitions and even prouder of the fact that we have won every race except two since the series began in 1999.
"The lessons learned in ALMS competition play a key role in the development of tires for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and it would be extremely rewarding for us and our teams if all four class trophies were on a plane back to the United States after next weekend."
Michelin tires at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
How many tires? 5,700, carried in 18 semi-trailers.
How many different patterns? Three (dry weather, intermediate, wet weather).
How many different compounds? Four ('soft', 'medium', 'hard', plus one for very warm temperatures) plus two types of qualifying tire.
How many different dimensions? 10 (according to category and whether front or rear)
How many technical staff? 55
The life of a tire at Le Mans
Top speed? About 200 mph (before the chicanes and "Indianapolis" corner (LM GT: 192 mph before the chicanes and 187 mph before "Indianapolis").
Maximum lateral G-forces? A peak of 3G before the "Indianapolis" corner, and a sustained 2.8G through the Porsche Curves.
Maximum longitudinal G-forces? 2.5G, under braking for the chicanes
Contact? At 200 mph, each part of the tread of a 25.6" diameter tire hits the ground 44 times every second! Each part of the same tire hits the ground 6,684 times during a complete lap of the 8.48 mile circuit!
Michelin's record at Le Mans
From the historic victory of André Lagache and René Léonard (Chenard & Walcker) in the inaugural Le Mans 24 Hours back in 1923, to Bentley's memorable one-two finish last year, Michelin's success in the world's most prestigious endurance race spans more than 80 years.
How many wins? 12. 2003 (Bentley), 2002 (Audi), 2001 (Audi), 2000 (Audi), 1999 (BMW), 1998 (Porsche), 1995 (McLaren), 1993 (Peugeot), 1992 (Peugeot), 1989 (Sauber), 1978 (Alpine-Renault), 1923 (Chenard & Walcker)
How many consecutive wins? Michelin tires have won the Le Mans 24 Hours overall every year since 1998
Michelin's result in the 2003 Le Mans 24 Hours… Overall victory with the Bentley of Kristensen/Capello/Smith, Victory in the LMP900, LMP675, LM-GTS and LM-GT classes with Pirro/Lehto/Johansson (Audi), André/Maury-Laribière/Pillon (Reynard-Lehman), Kox/Enge/Davies (Ferrari) and Luhr/Maassen/Collard (Porsche) respectively. Michelin runners monopolised the top–ten positions overall in the final classification.
A very busy month of June for Michelin
June is an especially busy month of world class motor sport for Michelin whose tires will be fighting at the sharp end in disciplines as different as Formula One, MotoGP, World Championship rallying, rally-raids, Endurance motor cycle racing, Motocross, Enduro, Trials and Supermotard.
The tire firm's program for the month features no fewer than 21 key events and will mobilise a total staff of 197, plus a cool 24,180 tires available for 216 cars or bikes. During this period of thirty days, Michelin's semi-trailers will cover a total of 191,366 miles, that's more than 7- times around the planet.
The busiest weekend of the calendar will be June 12th-13th which sees the organisation of the F1 Canadian Grand Prix, the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Nurburgring 24 Hours, Grand Prix Motorcycling in Catalonia and the Italian Motocross Grand Prix. This weekend alone Michelin will mobilize 10,800 tires and a staff of 128!
Michelin manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks, motorcycles and the space shuttle. The company also publishes travel guides, maps and atlases covering Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America Inc. (www.michelinman.com) employs 23,920 and operates 21 plants in 17 locations.
by Phil Romba
LE MANS, France – American teams and drivers have a strong chance of winning every class in the world's greatest endurance event next weekend - the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.
America has held a fascination with the event for many years, even pre-dating Steve McQueen's 1971 movie "Le Mans." This fascination has grown in recent years with the launch of the American Le Mans Series which utilizes the same rules and regulations which govern the fabled French event.
With the success of the series and subsequent victories by the factory Corvette squad in 2001 and '02 at Le Mans, this year's 24 Hour event will feature nine cars entered by American teams and 14 drivers with an American passport.
American favorites equipped with Michelin tires in each class include Florida-based Champion Racing Audi R8 entry in P1, West Palm Beach driver Gunnar Jeannette in the Epsilom Sport Courage in P2, the Detroit-based factory Corvette team in GTS and leading GT entries Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing (Las Vegas), BAM Motorsport/Orbit Racing (Stuart, Fla.) and Racers Group (Sonoma, Calif.).
Much of the hope of an American success at Le Mans rest with Michelin-equipped teams with seven of the nine U.S. entered cars running on Michelin tires. At the preliminary test day at Le Mans on April 25, the U.S. squads excelled. Champion Racing's Audi R8 of JJ Lehto, Marco Werner and three-time Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro were third fastest for outright honors with a time of 3 minutes, 34.176 seconds.
After starring for Panoz in last year's event with a run to fifth place outright, Gunnar Jeannette (pictured right) has assumed the role as lead driver for the Epsilom Sport Courage team. The young Florida driver was fourth fastest in the P2 class on the test day and completed an amazing run of endurance and durability - the team running the entire day on a single set of tires!
The Corvette squad smashed the lap record in the GTS division with Max Papis leading the charge - recording a lap nine seconds faster than their best achieved last year. Corvette is racing on Michelin for the first time at Le Mans in 2004. Last year on another tire brand, the team suffered a 10-lap defeat to the Michelin-equipped Prodrive Ferrari team.
American teams were 1-2 on the practice day on Michelin tires in the GT class with Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning heading the BAM Motorsports/Orbit Racing combination (pictured right). The Racer's Group entry is also no stranger to success at Le Mans with team owner Kevin Buckler having previously won the GT class at Le Mans in 2002 on Michelin tires.
"We are very proud of our teams from the American Le Mans Series for rising to the challenge of competing at Le Mans," said Amanda Head, Michelin motorsports marketing manager.
"The race is steeped in tradition and just to be invited to compete is a real honor. The fact that so many teams from the ALMS have had their entries accepted is a real credit to the championship.
"Michelin is proud of its role in helping develop the ALMS as one of the world's most fiercely contested sportscar competitions and even prouder of the fact that we have won every race except two since the series began in 1999.
"The lessons learned in ALMS competition play a key role in the development of tires for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and it would be extremely rewarding for us and our teams if all four class trophies were on a plane back to the United States after next weekend."
Michelin tires at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
How many tires? 5,700, carried in 18 semi-trailers.
How many different patterns? Three (dry weather, intermediate, wet weather).
How many different compounds? Four ('soft', 'medium', 'hard', plus one for very warm temperatures) plus two types of qualifying tire.
How many different dimensions? 10 (according to category and whether front or rear)
How many technical staff? 55
The life of a tire at Le Mans
Top speed? About 200 mph (before the chicanes and "Indianapolis" corner (LM GT: 192 mph before the chicanes and 187 mph before "Indianapolis").
Maximum lateral G-forces? A peak of 3G before the "Indianapolis" corner, and a sustained 2.8G through the Porsche Curves.
Maximum longitudinal G-forces? 2.5G, under braking for the chicanes
Contact? At 200 mph, each part of the tread of a 25.6" diameter tire hits the ground 44 times every second! Each part of the same tire hits the ground 6,684 times during a complete lap of the 8.48 mile circuit!
Michelin's record at Le Mans
From the historic victory of André Lagache and René Léonard (Chenard & Walcker) in the inaugural Le Mans 24 Hours back in 1923, to Bentley's memorable one-two finish last year, Michelin's success in the world's most prestigious endurance race spans more than 80 years.
How many wins? 12. 2003 (Bentley), 2002 (Audi), 2001 (Audi), 2000 (Audi), 1999 (BMW), 1998 (Porsche), 1995 (McLaren), 1993 (Peugeot), 1992 (Peugeot), 1989 (Sauber), 1978 (Alpine-Renault), 1923 (Chenard & Walcker)
How many consecutive wins? Michelin tires have won the Le Mans 24 Hours overall every year since 1998
Michelin's result in the 2003 Le Mans 24 Hours… Overall victory with the Bentley of Kristensen/Capello/Smith, Victory in the LMP900, LMP675, LM-GTS and LM-GT classes with Pirro/Lehto/Johansson (Audi), André/Maury-Laribière/Pillon (Reynard-Lehman), Kox/Enge/Davies (Ferrari) and Luhr/Maassen/Collard (Porsche) respectively. Michelin runners monopolised the top–ten positions overall in the final classification.
A very busy month of June for Michelin
June is an especially busy month of world class motor sport for Michelin whose tires will be fighting at the sharp end in disciplines as different as Formula One, MotoGP, World Championship rallying, rally-raids, Endurance motor cycle racing, Motocross, Enduro, Trials and Supermotard.
The tire firm's program for the month features no fewer than 21 key events and will mobilise a total staff of 197, plus a cool 24,180 tires available for 216 cars or bikes. During this period of thirty days, Michelin's semi-trailers will cover a total of 191,366 miles, that's more than 7- times around the planet.
The busiest weekend of the calendar will be June 12th-13th which sees the organisation of the F1 Canadian Grand Prix, the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Nurburgring 24 Hours, Grand Prix Motorcycling in Catalonia and the Italian Motocross Grand Prix. This weekend alone Michelin will mobilize 10,800 tires and a staff of 128!
Michelin manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks, motorcycles and the space shuttle. The company also publishes travel guides, maps and atlases covering Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America Inc. (www.michelinman.com) employs 23,920 and operates 21 plants in 17 locations.