Michelin has unveiled its
first set of specially designed racing
tires for the 24 Hours of Le Mans-bound
Project 56 DeltaWing team.
The front tires are just 10/58-15, or
less than 23 inches tall, and with a
tread just four inches wide. By
contrast, the 2011 Le Mans-winning Audi
R18 TDI prototype utilized taller and
wider front 36/71-18 Michelin tires
that were about 28 inches tall with
nearly 14 inches of tread width.
“The difference in tire size is
stunning,” says Michelin Le Mans Series
technical team leader Karl Koenigstein,
noting that three of the DeltaWings can
fit inside a single Audi tire.
The rear tires are less dramatic in
size, because the DeltaWing is designed
to race with 31/62-15 tires while the
average LMP2 prototype rear tire is
sized at 37/71-18. “The DeltaWing rear
tire is shorter and uses a smaller
rim,” says Koenigstein.
It has been granted the special
invitation for the 56th entry at the
2012 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
in June. The design is based on the
concept of “half,” meaning half the
power, weight, fuel and tires of
current Le Mans prototype competitors
with comparable performance.
“Michelin races to learn and races to
win,” says Silvia Mammone, motorsports
manager and Delta Wing project
leader.
“There is tremendous focus in the auto
industry worldwide on making vehicles
lighter without sacrificing
performance,” she adds, “and we hope to
learn a great deal from our
collaboration with the DeltaWing
program.”
The first stop for the tires will be a
full-size wind tunnel, where the crew
will validate the data on the first
completed race car before embarking
upon initial track testing.
For more information, visit www.michelinman.com
.
