For the 2013 season, MICHELIN has prepared new tyres for every one of the car classes that compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Its new range will be available for the first time at the 2013 6 Hours of Spa which stands out as an important test run ahead of this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. True, MICHELIN’s latest endurance racing tyres were used by the firm’s partners at a number of test sessions during the winter break. However, the unique profile of the Belgian circuit and its notoriously changeable weather conditions promise to provide MICHELIN Motorsport’s engineers with valuable feedback.
Even though Spa is very different to Le Mans, MICHELIN’s unique endurance racing expertise and the advanced simulation tools it has developed represent a real advantage. On the one hand, they permit the company to target its development work well in advance and, on the other, they mean MICHELIN is able to respond almost instantaneously to new situations.
In endurance racing, tyres play an active role in the efficiency of the cars by working in perfect harmony with their suspension systems. Indeed, not only do they need to support the weight of the cars, but they must also be capable of handling the colossal downforce generated by the LMP1 prototypes which can amount to three times the car’s own weight, not to mention the extreme lateral and longitudinal acceleration forces which frequently exceed 3g.
The work carried out by MICHELIN’s engineers is guided by this quest for perfect harmony between the tyres and the cars they equip. To achieve this, it is necessary to develop durable, high-performance tyres that remain competitive over the longest period of time possible. Although frequently considered to be irreconcilable, these two qualities can be improved simultaneously thanks to technology and it is this principle which is at the heart of the Group’s approach to research and development, known as the MICHELIN Total Performance plan.
MICHELIN used the winter to design a new range of endurance racing tyres in order to keep apace with the latest evolutions to the cars. In the case of the premier LMP1 class, MICHELIN has worked on two fronts, namely the adaptation of its tyres to the 2013-specification cars, plus development work on smaller, lighter tyres for 2014. To do this, MICHELIN Motorsport’s developers have benefited from information provided by its partners, notably Audi Sport Team Joest and Toyota Motorsport GmbH, who both have tyres that are adapted to the specific characteristics of their respective cars.
MICHELIN will have new tyres at Spa for the LMP2 class, too. These tyres were validated at the official pre-season WEC test at Paul Ricard on March 29-30 and were made during the month of April at the firm’s Cataroux plant in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Their priority mission will be to help Pecom Racing top the order in Belgium, which is a major challenge, since MICHELIN is already looking ahead to 2014 when the regulations will limit the numbers of tyres that teams can use at each race. Its new tyres have consequently been designed to deliver enhanced longevity from this season.
Finally, development work on new tyres for the GTE Pro and AM classes has been equally thorough. Following tests with its partners, MICHELIN has decided to replace its former soft- compound slick with a new ‘low temperature’ medium compound. It has also improved its ‘high temperature’ medium tyre and revised the compound used for its ‘hard’ slick. For those partners who are running new cars this season, MICHELIN has developed tyres that match the characteristics of the machines in question.
Spa-Francorchamps: the Ardennes roller-coaster
The original 14.981km track was designed in 1921 by Jules de Thier and Henri Langlois Van Ophem and basically formed a triangle that ran between Francorchamps, Malmedy and Stavelot. It used roads that were normally open to ordinary traffic.
The designers’ intention was to create a fast circuit and the changes that have been introduced over the years have followed the same trend, upping average speeds while at the same time remaining attentive to the safety of the drivers. A significant amount of work has been carried out in recent years, including the building of new FIA-standard pits, modifications to the chicane and pit-lane entry, the lengthening and widening of the start line, the incorporation of a run-off area at the La Source hairpin, modifications to the pit-lane exit which is now on the run down to Raidillon, the creation of numerous other asphalted run-off areas and the building of new grandstands.
The 7.004km circuit is the second longest of the WEC campaign season after Le Mans and continues to be particularly fast and hilly, including portions of the former track where top speeds exceed 300kph. Its surface is consistent and provides plenty of grip. There are 20 turns, the fastest of which are Raidillon and Eau Rouge through which the drivers are exposed to very high centrifugal forces.
Spa-Francorchamps is also notorious for its fickle weather conditions. It is not uncommon for the track to be dry in places and damp and slippery in others.
Source : Michelin