The 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours saw Michelin establish a range of new distance, speed and durability records.

On the Sunday morning (June 13), the N°1 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP completed four stints in the hands of Anthony Davidson. The average lap time during the Briton’s run was 3m 21.917s for a distance of 627km at an average speed of 243kph. Davidson completed his last lap in a time of 3m 20.4s.

“It’s the first time since 2007 that a Peugeot has completed a quadruple stint in daylight at such a high average speed,” points out Serge Grisin, the manager of Michelin Competition’s four-wheel programmes. “It shows how consistent and quick Michelin’s endurance tyres are…”

The 78th running of the race also saw the winning N°9 Audi of Dumas/Rockenfeller/Bernhard establish a new distance record (5,410.71km) for the 24-hour marathon, despite four safety-car interventions. The previous record had stood since 1971.

The winning N°9 Audi R15 Plus used 11 sets of tyres during the race, which works out at an average distance of almost 500km covered by each set. In 2009, the winning N°9 Peugeot used 14 sets of tyres to cover 5,206km.

Thanks to the work carried out by Michelin to enhance the durability of its tyres, the winning car used 21% fewer tyres and covered 200 kilometres more.

“Michelin also achieved its objectives by winning the LMP2 class thanks to the triple-stint strategy of the Strakka Racing HPD-ARX 01c. Michelin claimed the LMGT2 class, too, with the Porsches and Ferraris double stinting, while the Corvettes even triple stinted on the same tyres.”

24 Hours of Le Mans, Michelin, Serge Grisin