Michelin Competition’s motor racing boss looks back at the 1,000km of Hungaroring which saw Michelin notch up its 34th consecutive Le Mans Series victory.

Serge Grisin

“To be honest, I thought the win was going to escape us in Hungary. That would have brought a halt to Michelin’s long winning streak in the Le Mans Series that has lasted since 2004,” admits Serge Grisin.

“All our LMP1 partner teams were hit by mechanic trouble and it didn’t look good for us when the Oreca Peugeot pitted with a little more than two hours remaining. The Quifel Ginetta seemed quick and was double stinting with its tyres, while Strakka’s car was second. We knew it was quick, but after experiencing three difficult ALMS races, they had chosen to take a safe approach this weekend, especially on the tyre front.”

The Quifel ASM Team Ginetta’s final pit stop proved longer than expected, which allowed the Strakka Racing HPD-ARX 01c to take the lead. “Thanks to Strakka Racing’s win, Michelin is still unbeaten in the LMS since the creation of the championship in 2004. That’s a score of 34 outright victories with a long list of different partners, from Audi, Peugeot and Cytec Motorsport, to Pescarolo Sport, Oreca, Aston Martin and Strakka Racing.“

In the ALMS, Michelin’s enviable sequence of 61 race wins was stemmed by Dyson Lola’s recent success at Mid-Ohio, although the French tyre firm returned to its winning ways last weekend with a clean sweep of the podium at Road America.

1000 km d'Hungaroring, Michelin, Serge Grisin, Strakka