After the last two rounds of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championships, where medium- and hard-compound tyres were the choice for the recent ‘hot weather’ venues, the prototype cars competing in this weekend’s 6 Hours of Fuji will find themselves back on the soft-compound MICHELIN endurance racing tyres that were last used during June’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
The chief fitment for the LMP1 prototypes this weekend promises to be MICHELIN’s ‘High Temperature’ soft compound, although an alternative solution for cold conditions and/or fickle weather will also be available, an option dictated by the conditions that tend to be encountered at Fuji Speedway in October. However, it is a one-off case during the second half of the championship which predominantly visits hot-climate venues.
Tyres promise to play a key role in this weekend’s duel between Audi Sport Team Joest and Toyota Motorsport GmbH which have both entered two LMP1 prototypes whose MICHELIN tyres are adapted to the specific characteristics of each car. Depending on the conditions on the day and how the race unfolds, the two teams could well run different tyre strategies.
The MICHELIN-equipped cars competing in the other classes will run softer tyres than those used in Brazil and Texas.
The 6 Hours of Fuji will also mark the first public track appearance of the NISSAN ZEOD RC, a mock-up of which was presented ahead of this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. The new prototype will perform a number of parade laps before the race and MICHELIN is the official partner of this innovative project which has been nominated for the ACO’s ‘Garage 56’ at Le Mans in 2014. The lines of the ZEOD RC were honed to optimise aerodynamic efficiency and the Japanese brand’s new laboratory race car features a ‘zero emissions on demand’ powertrain. MICHELIN has taken advantage of its involvement to work on the development of high energy-efficiency tyres which continue to deliver the level of performance expected of a competitive racing tyre.
It is important to remember that Japan plays a key role in the MICHELIN Group’s global strategy. In this country, where the automobile industry is at the cutting edge, the French firm uses motorsport to showcase its expertise and the 6 Hours of Fuji fits perfectly with the MICHELIN Group’s strategy which seeks to demonstrate the quality of its tyres through the results it obtains on the racetrack.
MICHELIN’s motorsport activities in Japan include other disciplines, too, including the SUPER GT series which, as a genuine high-speed technological proving ground, is seen as a priority by the Group.
This extremely close, eight-round Japanese championship enjoys a strong following worldwide and stars three of the country’s foremost carmakers: TOYOTA (through its high-end brand LEXUS), NISSAN and HONDA. Four different tyre manufacturers compete and development work is unrestricted, although tyre quantities for each race are limited.
With consecutive titles to its name in 2011 and 2012 in association with Team MOLA’s privately- run NISSAN GT-R, MICHELIN will be targeting a third straight crown at the final clash of the 2013 season at Motegi on November 3-4.
MICHELIN’s tyres for each class at the 6 Hours of Fuji
LM P1 : Slicks = choice between ‘High Temperature’ and ‘Low Temperature’ Soft compounds, Hybrid, Wet
LM P2 : Slicks (Medium and Medium Plus), Wet (Drying Tracks and Full Wets)
LM GTE (Pro and AM) : Porsche (Slicks : Medium and Medium Plus), Wets (Dryong Tracks or Full Wets), Other Partners (Slicks High Temperatures and Low Temperatures Medium compounds), Wets (Drying Tracks or Full Wets)
MICHELIN has 2,100 tyres available for its partners’ 21 cars.