Michelin’s motorsports staff is the technical partner of choice for 18 of the 31 racing teams running in the Sept. 26 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, including factory-backed entries from Audi, Peugeot, Acura, Corvette, Porsche, Ferrari and Mazda, plus independent teams representing Oreca, Drayson and Farnbacher Loles.
Petit Le Mans is viewed as the “home” American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race for the tire maker; the Michelin North America headquarters and Michelin America Research Center are just a hundred miles up the highway from Road Atlanta in Greenville, S.C. The company has 19 facilities and nearly 12,000 employees throughout the Southeastern U.S.
Saturday’s race marks the renewal of a pitched battle between Peugeot, winner of the 2009 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the defending race champion Audi squad. It also provides a strong measuring post for the development of new wide-tire Acura prototypes that have dominated the 2009 ALMS championships.
Former Indy 500 champs Gil de Ferran, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti are aboard with Acura, and defending race winners Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello return with Audi.
Michelin’s GT2 squads will face strong challenges from the Dunlop (BMW) and Yokohama (Panoz) factory teams along with a single independent entry from Falken and a prototype competitor fielded by Kumho.
“The track at Road Atlanta is incredibly fast (the lap record average speed is more than 138 mph), and at 10-hours/1,000-miles, the endurance factors really kick into play,” says Karl Koenigstein, Michelin’s ALMS technical team leader.
“Like Le Mans, teams will want to double-stint their tires here at Petit Le Mans, so the key is to provide Michelin tires that provide both exceptional levels of grip and extended wear,” he points out.
“The conditions change during the course of the race, especially after sunset, so we will have two or three dry tire options available for each of our teams,” says Koenigstein.
“The Petit Le Mans is always a great race and provides a perfect opportunity to evaluate the competition and begin preparations for the 2010 ALMS season opener at Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans next June,” he adds. “We can use the practice sessions earlier in the week to try some new things and even experiment a bit in the race itself.”
Victories at Petit Le Mans provide guaranteed invitations to the 2010 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans for each of the three ALMS class winners. Michelin is seeking its 11th consecutive victory in the event.
The 2009 Petit Le Mans contains a “race within the race” as it marks the first anniversary of the Michelin Green X Challenge, featuring the return of ultra-low sulfur diesel entries from Audi and Peugeot matched up against E10-fueled prototypes from Acura, Oreca and Drayson along with an E85R-fueled Intersport Lola.
The last-minute withdrawal of the new hybrid electric Corsa Zytek Ginetta prototype, which has competed in three ALMS events this year, means that the much-anticipated, first-time head-to-head competition of four different energy sources will be deferred until the start of the 2010 season.
ALMS is the only series currently recognized as “Green Racing” by the sanctioning bodies. The entries compete with E10 ethanol blended gasoline; E85R gasoline blended ethanol, GTL (natural gas to liquid) biodiesel or E10-electric hybrid power.
The Green X Challenge was developed in cooperation with Michelin and the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and SAE International. Teams win by delivering the best overall performance, fuel efficiency and smallest environmental impact throughout the race. Using a formula developed by the Argonne National Laboratory that includes more than 30 different factors, real time standings are posted on timing and scoring screens throughout the competition.
For more information, visit www.michelinman.com.
