MICHELIN has brought some 2,200 tyres to Le Mans this weekend, and that high figure was necessitated by the fact that all the cars have a maximum of eight hours track-time available, plus the likelihood of unsettled weather.

This so-called ‘pre-test’ is important for MICHELIN which has practically entirely renewed its range of endurance racing tyres ahead of the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours. “The majority of our partners have already chosen their tyres following the season’s early races and private test sessions. The aim now is to confirm that choice round this highly specific circuit,” says Serge Grisin, the manager of MICHELIN Competition’s four-wheel racing activities. “If anyone has a problem with their selection, the six weeks between now and the race itself should leave us enough time to respond. For the moment, though, everything is going well.”

Another of today’s missions is to establish the quantities of each type of tyre (i.e. slicks, intermediates and rain tyres) that each partner will need for the race. It is probable that MICHELIN will work with 36 of the 56 cars that will compete in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. The firm itself is targeting a 20^th win in La Sarthe, and its 14^th in a row since 1998.

24 Hours of Le Mans, Michelin, Test