In addition to having the world’s highest density of sports cars compared with the total number of cars on the road, the Middle East is a region where many one-off or limited-edition cars are sold with ‘tailor-made’ tyres of up to 23 inches in diameter (the production version of the Ferrari 458 Italia runs on 20-inch tyres). It is therefore a buoyant market where the performance and prestige of MICHELIN’s tyres are widely recognised.

The 2012 6 Hours of Bahrain consequently provides the French firm with a valuable opportunity to showcase the performance of its endurance racing tyres to an audience of Arab motor racing fans. In order to combine grip, consistency and durability, MICHELIN’s circuit racing tyres use new innovations which foreshadow technologies that will be a feature of its road car ‘sport’ tyres of tomorrow.

Thanks to this ongoing transfer of technology from the race track to the street, it is already possible for sports car owners to benefit from two technologies that were developed for the Le Mans 24 Hours and which are today built into the MICHELIN PILOT Super Sport. They are the use of two-compound technology for maximum cornering grip and ‘Variable Contact Patch 2.0′ technology for even longer tyre life and enhanced performance consistency.

Longevity and consistency promise to be key factors, too, at this weekend’s 6 Hours of Bahrain which takes place at a circuit located in the middle of a desert. The asphalt surface at Sakhir, which was inaugurated on March 17, 2004, is in perfect condition, yet it is still very slippery because of the sand that escapes the amalgamating adhesive which is sprayed over the sand in the vicinity of the track. MICHELIN’s tyres will therefore be submitted to a significant amount of sliding, and that could speed up their degradation.

Serge GRISIN, the manager of MICHELIN four-wheel motor racing programmes, explains the impact these conditions could have on the firm’s race tyres: “The 6 Hours of Bahrain is one of the rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship where tyres face a particularly tough time. We expect very hot weather for the start, with track temperatures perhaps as high as 50°C. The surface will then become cooler a fter nightfall. The ability of MICHELIN tyres to be competitive over such a broad temperature range will be put to the test and the outcome of the race could also be influenced by the teams’ tyre strategies, which will involve choosing the right tyre at the right moment to be sure of consistent performance over two stints in the case of the LM P1 cars. These two considerations promise to play an important role in Bahrain.”

A specialist MICHELIN technician has been designated to work alongside each of the firm’s partners. During the race, their mission will be to advise the teams and drivers on tyre choice, pressures and settings. Their role will also consist in feeding back information to the Group’s Competition Department’s engineers. This data will then be used by MICHELIN Competition’s Technical Director Nicolas GOUBERT and his team for the development of tyres for the following endurance racing season.

Source : Michelin