gaijin
10-28-2004, 07:33 PM
Michelin Complete Championship Run with More Victories at Laguna
Paul Ryan 10-19-2004
Mission accomplished! Michelin completed a perfect championship season at Mazda Raceway - Laguna Seca last weekend, in the final round of the American Le Mans Series.
Timo Bernhard's second-place finish in the GT class for the Michelin-equipped Alex Job Racing Porsche team wrapped up his first GT driver's championship and completed a clean sweep for Michelin.
Michelin played a key role in winning the drivers, manufacturers, team and tire championship in every class it competed in this year - P1, GTS and GT.
Pierre Kaffer and Johnny Herbert used smart late-race strategy Saturday night as rain hit the Monterey circuit to steal the lead from P1 champions and teammates Marco Werner and JJ Lehto in the Michelin-fitted Champion Audi two-car team.
The victory was Michelin's eighth in the P1 class in 2004. Michelin's new partnership with Corvette went one better in GTS with 2004 champions Johnny O'Connell and Ron Fellows completing an undefeated season Corvette grabbed nine ALMS wins in total, plus a victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Bernhard's teammates Romain Dumas and Marc Leib took the final GT victory of the year for Alex Job Racing - giving Michelin eight wins in nine races this year.
The championship-clinching event marked a successful weekend around the world for Michelin which also secured the MotoGP World Championship in Australia for Valentino Rossi/Yamaha and the World Rally Championship for Sebastien Loeb/Citreon in France yesterday.
"Our teams faced really tough conditions yesterday. Racing into the night provided a change in track temperature of more than 20 degrees but our products this weekend were strong in all conditions,² said Amanda Head, Michelin motorsports marketing manager.
"The rain late in the race certainly kept everybody on their toes and gave Corvette a chance to try Michelin wets for the first time.
"This year has been extremely successful and Michelin has to thank all its teams and manufacturer partners for their efforts this year. This year brought the toughest competition Michelin has faced in the American Le Mans Series.
"The Dyson team has been worthy competitors throughout the year, and the new Zytek also put us under pressure in the final two races. But competition like that is what Michelin thrives on. We know next year will be even tougher. And we will be ready for the challenge."
MILES IN THE LEAD - The victories by Audi, Corvette and Porsche this weekend completed an amazing year for the Michelin "Bibendum Boys".
In total, Michelin secured 25 class wins in 2004 from 27 classes entered.It won a fifth consecutive tire manufacturers championship in P1 and GT and won its first GTS tire championship since 2000 thanks to Corvette.
The year was dominated by the #3 and #4 Corvettes - winning every pole, setting every fastest lap and winning every race.
The victory this past weekend by Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell was particularly sweet for Corvette. Despite having won 31 races in the history of the American Le Mans Series, they had never won at Mazda Raceway - Laguna Seca until last Saturday.
MICHELIN'S WINNING WAYS - Dating back to the series_ inception in 1999, Michelin teams have led 9,313 out of a possible 10,039 laps (93%) in ALMS competition en route to winning 53 out of 56 races, including all six Twelve Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans events.
During the 2004 season, Michelin teams led 1,324 of 1,667 laps in the ALMS.
In total, Michelin teams spent 3,483.85 miles in the lead during 2004 (out of a total of 4,412.62 miles) - a dominating percentage of 78.95% at the front.
KAFFER BACK AT THE FRONT - Young German Pierre Kaffer bookmarked the season perfectly with victories in the first and last races of the ALMS season.
Kaffer won the opening round of the championship with the Michelin-equipped Audi Sport UK team - partnering Alan McNish and Frank Biela.
The victory by the #2 Champion Audi broke the stranglehold on victories by the championship-winning #38 sister car of JJ Lehto and Marco Werner. After finishing second at Sebring, Lehto and Werner had only failed to win one other race during the year until Laguna.
NEW TIRES RULES FOR 2005 - New regulations regarding tires and their usage will be introduced in the ALMS in 2005.
The new rules cap the number of tires any ALMS car can have on days leading up to the race, including the race day warmup, to 20 dry tires. The number of tires that can be used in the race is not limited. In addition, "intermediate" tires will be eliminated, and a single wet tire per tire manufacturer, per class, will be mandated.
Teams may also use only one set of tires in qualifying.
"We are certainly very supportive of the ALMS and IMSA's efforts to reduce costs related to tires and tire testing," said Head.
"We will still bring a wide variety of compounds for our teams. The new rules will not affect our competitiveness in any way."
Paul Ryan 10-19-2004
Mission accomplished! Michelin completed a perfect championship season at Mazda Raceway - Laguna Seca last weekend, in the final round of the American Le Mans Series.
Timo Bernhard's second-place finish in the GT class for the Michelin-equipped Alex Job Racing Porsche team wrapped up his first GT driver's championship and completed a clean sweep for Michelin.
Michelin played a key role in winning the drivers, manufacturers, team and tire championship in every class it competed in this year - P1, GTS and GT.
Pierre Kaffer and Johnny Herbert used smart late-race strategy Saturday night as rain hit the Monterey circuit to steal the lead from P1 champions and teammates Marco Werner and JJ Lehto in the Michelin-fitted Champion Audi two-car team.
The victory was Michelin's eighth in the P1 class in 2004. Michelin's new partnership with Corvette went one better in GTS with 2004 champions Johnny O'Connell and Ron Fellows completing an undefeated season Corvette grabbed nine ALMS wins in total, plus a victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Bernhard's teammates Romain Dumas and Marc Leib took the final GT victory of the year for Alex Job Racing - giving Michelin eight wins in nine races this year.
The championship-clinching event marked a successful weekend around the world for Michelin which also secured the MotoGP World Championship in Australia for Valentino Rossi/Yamaha and the World Rally Championship for Sebastien Loeb/Citreon in France yesterday.
"Our teams faced really tough conditions yesterday. Racing into the night provided a change in track temperature of more than 20 degrees but our products this weekend were strong in all conditions,² said Amanda Head, Michelin motorsports marketing manager.
"The rain late in the race certainly kept everybody on their toes and gave Corvette a chance to try Michelin wets for the first time.
"This year has been extremely successful and Michelin has to thank all its teams and manufacturer partners for their efforts this year. This year brought the toughest competition Michelin has faced in the American Le Mans Series.
"The Dyson team has been worthy competitors throughout the year, and the new Zytek also put us under pressure in the final two races. But competition like that is what Michelin thrives on. We know next year will be even tougher. And we will be ready for the challenge."
MILES IN THE LEAD - The victories by Audi, Corvette and Porsche this weekend completed an amazing year for the Michelin "Bibendum Boys".
In total, Michelin secured 25 class wins in 2004 from 27 classes entered.It won a fifth consecutive tire manufacturers championship in P1 and GT and won its first GTS tire championship since 2000 thanks to Corvette.
The year was dominated by the #3 and #4 Corvettes - winning every pole, setting every fastest lap and winning every race.
The victory this past weekend by Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell was particularly sweet for Corvette. Despite having won 31 races in the history of the American Le Mans Series, they had never won at Mazda Raceway - Laguna Seca until last Saturday.
MICHELIN'S WINNING WAYS - Dating back to the series_ inception in 1999, Michelin teams have led 9,313 out of a possible 10,039 laps (93%) in ALMS competition en route to winning 53 out of 56 races, including all six Twelve Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans events.
During the 2004 season, Michelin teams led 1,324 of 1,667 laps in the ALMS.
In total, Michelin teams spent 3,483.85 miles in the lead during 2004 (out of a total of 4,412.62 miles) - a dominating percentage of 78.95% at the front.
KAFFER BACK AT THE FRONT - Young German Pierre Kaffer bookmarked the season perfectly with victories in the first and last races of the ALMS season.
Kaffer won the opening round of the championship with the Michelin-equipped Audi Sport UK team - partnering Alan McNish and Frank Biela.
The victory by the #2 Champion Audi broke the stranglehold on victories by the championship-winning #38 sister car of JJ Lehto and Marco Werner. After finishing second at Sebring, Lehto and Werner had only failed to win one other race during the year until Laguna.
NEW TIRES RULES FOR 2005 - New regulations regarding tires and their usage will be introduced in the ALMS in 2005.
The new rules cap the number of tires any ALMS car can have on days leading up to the race, including the race day warmup, to 20 dry tires. The number of tires that can be used in the race is not limited. In addition, "intermediate" tires will be eliminated, and a single wet tire per tire manufacturer, per class, will be mandated.
Teams may also use only one set of tires in qualifying.
"We are certainly very supportive of the ALMS and IMSA's efforts to reduce costs related to tires and tire testing," said Head.
"We will still bring a wide variety of compounds for our teams. The new rules will not affect our competitiveness in any way."