The life-size laboratory of the 2013 Endurance World
Championship’s opener brings
Michelin second and fourth places
This weekend’s 77th Bol d’Or at Nevers-Magny-Cours, France,
saw MICHELIN harvest second and fourth places thanks to its partners Yamaha
Monster Austria and Yamaha GMT 94.
Once again, the French motorcycle endurance racing classic
produced a thrilling battle between the expected front-runners, despite the
mixed conditions which included cold weather and a little rain that put the
emphasis on sound tyre tactics.
Despite this challenging cocktail, MICHELIN’s partners were
able to benefit from the new technologies introduced by the French manufacturer
for the Magny-Cours clash, notably in the realms of new constructions and
compounds. MICHELIN’s new tyres were both competitive (all the firm’s EWC
partners improved their lap times compared with the 2012 Bol d’Or) and
consistent (similar lap times from the start to finish of stints). Their
warm-up was also particularly fast, which turned out to be a key advantage when
re-joining the race after pit-stops or when racing resumed after the different
Safety Car interruptions.
The new front
tyre, which featured
a new construction,
proved particularly versatile
and allowed MICHELIN’s partners
to benefit from high performance across the full spectrum of temperatures that
were encountered during the race, both day and night.
Meanwhile, the new rear tyre, which had a specific compound
to deliver increased cornering grip and enhanced performance at low
temperatures, allowed the firm’s partners to produce the fastest laps when the
conditions were at their most demanding.
The Yamaha France GMT94 MICHELIN Yamalube Yamaha R1 was
particularly competitive during the 2013 Bol d’Or and its speed was helped by
its MICHELIN tyres. At 7:42pm Saturday, after a duel lasting almost five hours,
the N°94 bike emerged in first p lace on Lap 161 and held that position for 10
minutes. After that, the gap to the leader stabilised at one lap throughout the
night-time portion of the race. With six hours remaining, the Christophe
GUYOT-led squad closed to within 1m22s of first place but was then compelled to
make an unscheduled pit stop which saw it lose ground. It went on to finish
fourth overall.
Only two versions of the new MICHELIN rear tyre were
actually used, which was an eloquent illustration of the technological
evolution the brand’s motorcycle endurance racing tyres have undergone. Indeed,
in the space of just five years, Michelin has almost halved the number of
specific solutions required for this race with no detriment to either
consistency or performance.
MICHELIN’s developers work ceaselessly to improve the
longevity of the brand’s tyres, as well as on broadening the spectrum
of conditions in which
they can be used while maintaining the
same high standard of performance
and safety. This approach lies at the heart of the French tyre firm’s research
and development strategy –
known as ‘Michelin
Total Performance’ -
which consists in
simultaneously enhancing all the factors that contribute to tyre
performance, even those which are commonly thought to be irreconcilable.
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