On Thursday, December 2, Michelin will be playing host to its partner Audi for what promises to be an exceptionally entertaining day in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The association of the two firms in motorsport dates back 30 years and has seen a high number of innovations.

Romain Dumas, 2010 Le Mans winner, with Michelin technician

Together, Audi and Michelin have scored eight wins – including four one-two-tree finishes – at Le Mans since 2000. That run includes the first major international success for a diesel-engined car in 2006, while the record also features nine ALMS titles and two LMS crowns.

Michelin and Audi were also partners in the World Rally Championship back in the days when four-wheel drive began to make its mark in the sport. At the beginning of the 1980s, Audi chose the French tyre manufacturer to equip the terrifying Audi Quattro and the Group B Sport Quattro, as well as the Group A Audi 200.

In association with Michelin, the German carmaker notched up 15 world class wins in total, as well as two Manufacturers’ titles and three Drivers’ crowns with Röhrl, Mikkola and Blomqvist, not to mention a silver medal for French lady driver Michèle Mouton in the 1982 championship with Audi/Michelin.

In parallel to their rallying programme, Audi and Michelin also turned their attention to the famous Pikes Peak hill climb in the USA. In 1985, Michèle Mouton won the event and established a new record for the run (11m 35.39s). The following year saw America’s Bobby Unser improve on that effort with a 11m 9.22s, but the ultimate-spec Quattro S1 (598hp) took victory in 1987 with a time of 10m 45.85s in the hands of Walter Röhrl. That success marked the end of the Audi Quattro/Michelin era.

Michelin did not follow Audi into the DTM with the A4 or the V8 Quattro, nor did the two companies work together in the USA’s Trans-Am series with first the 200 Quattro, and then the 90 Quattro. However, the French tyres were on the R8R prototypes when the German make took up the Le Mans 24 Hours gauntlet in 1999. Since then, Michelin has shared all Audi’s adventures in endurance racing.

Source: www.youtube.com/user/jp15sil24

24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi, Michelin, road show