ALMS: Michelin Quick Facts - Superflo 12 Hours of Sebring

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

March 17 at Sebring International Raceway

* Top Teams To Ride On Michelin Tires - A total of 14 cars will be riding on Michelin tires. In the prototype division, Michelin-shod cars include the factory-supported efforts from Audi and Panoz as well as the Champion (Audi), Johansson (Audi) and Pescarolo (Courage) teams. In the GT category, Michelin tires will equip the Alex Job, Peterson, Larbre and RSW Porsche teams, as well as a pair of M3s fielded by BMW.

* New Tires Are On Their Way - Michelin will have a number of new rubber compound and construction solutions for its teams when they arrive for practice next week. Not only will teams have new dry weather tires, but also all-new wet weather tires...just in case. Audi, BMW, Panoz and Porsche tested the tires, designed and built in France near Michelin headquarters, earlier this winter in Jarama, Spain.

* Michelin Is Two-Time Defending Sebring Champ - Michelin-shod cars have won the last two 12 Hours of Sebring events.

- In 1999, JJ Lehto, Tom Kristensen and Jorg Muller drove their Michelin-shod BMW V12 LMR to victory, Michelin's first win at the 12-hour Sebring event.

- In 2000, Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen and Emanuele Pirro scored the win driving a Michelin-shod Audi R8. In addition, a Dodge Viper and a Porsche fitted with Michelin tires won the GTS and GT categories respectively.

* A Look At The Numbers - Michelin will bring more than 3,500 tires, giving its teams a full repertoire of tires from which to choose, featuring construction techniques and rubber compounds suited for varying weather, temperatures and track conditions.

That's enough tires to travel more than 700,000 miles, which is equal to more than 180,000 laps around the 3.7-mile Sebring International Raceway road course or more than 130 round trips between Sebring and Los Angeles. Shipping the tires from manufacturing plants in the United States and France will require 12 53-foot tractor-trailers. Two 25KW generators, one 185-pound air compressor and 25 bottles of nitrogen will be used to support the weekend effort. Michelin will bring 30 engineers, tire fitters and support personnel to the track.

* Off To A Winning Start - Michelin opened the 2001 ALMS season last weekend by leading all 117 laps of the Leather Center Grand Prix of Texas en route to scoring the company's 20th overall ALMS victory. Driving an Audi R8 equipped with Michelin tires, Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen scored the win. Lucas Luhr and Sascha Maassen led flag-to-flag in the GT category in their Michelin-shod McKenna Porsche.

* Sports Car Domination - Michelin has dominated sports car racing the past few seasons, having won 20 of 21 ALMS races since the series' inception in 1999 as well as the last four 24 Hour of Le Mans races and the two most recent 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans events.

Text Provided By Bob Andrew

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.