ALMS: Michelin to introduce new tires at the Petit Le Mans
26 September 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
(Greenville, S.C.) - Michelin has already clinched the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Tire Championship for the prototype category, having won all eight races run thus far. And, the tire brand punctuated its successful season with overall wins at the 24 hour Daytona and Le Mans endurance classics. So, it would be easy for the company's engineers to simply take tried-and-true tires to this weekend's Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
But, they're not known for resting on their laurels.
"The Michelin engineers have come up with new compound and construction combinations for our teams to try at Petit Le Mans," said Herb Johnson, director of motorsports for Michelin North America. "That's how and why we race...to develop new technology. Because Road Atlanta is close to our North American headquarters in Greenville, we have been able to test there extensively over the past several months. The track is very fast and features mostly right hand turns, so we compensated for that in new tires. Additionally, we will also have a supply of our typical array of dry- and wet-weather tires for our teams to choose from. We're proud that Audi, BMW, Panoz, Dodge Viper, top Porsche and other teams at the Petit Le Mans are riding on Michelin tires."
In total, the company will take nearly 4,000 tires to Road Atlanta for the 17 cars running on Michelin tires. A team of 12 engineers, 12 tire fitters and 15 other Michelin personnel will be on site to support its teams.
Top Teams Riding On Michelin Tires At The Petit Le Mans In the prototype category, the defending Petit Le Mans-winning Panoz team will be riding on Michelin tires as will the Sebring and Le Mans-winning Audi team, plus the 1999 Le Mans-winning BMW team and the Olive Garden Rafanelli team. Team Oreca, defending Petit Le Mans GTS winner, and Chamberlain Racing will field Michelin-shod Dodge Vipers in the GTS category. Defending Petit Le Mans GT winner Alex Job Racing, Dick Barbour Racing and Mike Colucci Racing will field Michelin-shod Porsches in the GT category.
Michelin Scores Big Wins In 2000
Michelin won the three biggest sportscar endurance races in the world this season. Dodge Viper won the 24 Hours of Daytona while Audi won the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In addition to Sebring, Michelin has won the other seven 2000 ALMS races run thus far, including Charlotte (BMW), Silverstone (BMW), Germany (Panoz), Sears Point (Audi), Mosport (Audi), Texas (Audi) and Portland (Audi).
Michelin Tires Tops At 1000 km Events
When it comes to ALMS races of at least 1000 kilometers, Michelin has won all but the Petit Le Mans in 1998. The win list includes the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Petit Le Mans in 1999, as well as the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Nrburgring 1000 km in 2000. Remaining on the schedule for this year in the 1000 km or longer category are the Petit Le Mans and The Race of 1000 Years in Australia.
Michelin Clinches ALMS Tire Championship
After dominating the ALMS throughout the 2000 season, Michelin wrapped up the Tire Championship for the prototype category at the most recent race in Portland. To date, Michelin has scored 210 points while Yokohama has 89. Goodyear, Pirelli and Avon have also scored points in the ALMS prototype tire championship. Unlike other major racing series such as CART, NASCAR and the IRL, the ALMS features head-to-head competition among several major tire manufacturers.
Michelin also leads by significant margins the Tire Championship points in the GTS and GT categories.
Text provided by Bob Andrew
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