Michelin Supplies Exclusive Hypercar Tires To Participate In 2025 Le Mans 24..unrivaled technology
Jun 23, 2025
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Le Mans 24:00 is the world's oldest endurance race, held every June in Le Mans, France. Le Mans 24:00, which runs for 24 hours without stopping, is an extreme race that comprehensively tests the performance of vehicles and tires, as well as team strategies and driver concentration, and is considered one of the world's top three motorsports competitions.
Eight carmakers from Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Porsche, Peugeot and Toyota participated in the hypercar category, which was held for two days from June 14-15, and this year's victory was won by the Ferrari AF Corset team. Michelin supplied about 4,400 tires for a total of 21 vehicles, with the entire process from testing to main race.
MICHELIN developed a dedicated tire called "MICHELIN Pilot Sport Endurance" for the hypercar participating in the 24:00 Le Mans. The Michelin Pillot Sports Endurance is an ultra-high-performance tire developed to match the characteristics of endurance racing, designed to allow drivers to bring the vehicle's performance to the limit for longer and stronger based on its excellent performance and durability.
Michelin provided three types of slick compounds optimized for different temperature conditions to allow each team to fine-tune their strategy based on weather conditions and track conditions. In particular, different colors were applied to the tire sidewall depending on the compound so that it could be clearly distinguished which compound was used during the race.
Soft compound (white sidewall) is a soft compound optimized for cold or humid track conditions, best suited for night-to-early morning hours.The Medium Compound (Yellow Sidewall) is a general purpose compound that performs stably under various conditions, and has been the most widely used during the race.The hard compound (red sidewall) is designed to withstand high track temperatures and extreme driving conditions, and is durable and thermal resistant.
Michelin Pilot Sports Endurance was created through virtual simulation-based modeling technology to minimize the impact on the environment during tire development. To build these simulation modeling systems more precisely, Michelin collects and analyzes data from various races.
By precisely predicting the tire's response in extreme driving conditions through simulation, the process of prototype production and physical testing has been minimized, and by halving the development period, it is contributing to reducing carbon emissions.
The use of renewable materials is also one of the keys to Michelin's sustainability strategy. Michelin, which has accumulated expertise in materials, already has the technology to develop Hikerpa-only tires with more than 30% of Slick tires and 45% of wet tires with renewable and recyclable materials.
In fact, the Michelin Filot Sports Endurance Tire supplied at 24:00 this year is made of about 30% recycled and renewable raw materials, including natural rubber, carbon black recycled from waste tires, natural resins extracted from orange and lemon shells, and biosilica derived from rice bran.
For Michelin, motorsport goes beyond just competitive races and is a venue for opportunities to accelerate innovation and verify technology. In particular, Le Mans 24:00 is an important stage that provides an optimal environment for testing new solutions in extreme conditions, and the proven technology is also expanded and reflected in the development of general road tires.
With the successful end of the 2025 Le Mans 24:00, Michelin is spurring innovation for a more sustainable future. While preparing to unveil a new generation of tires in the hypercar segment, it revealed its ambition to further expand the ratio of renewable materials to 50% for Slick tires and up to 56% for Wet tires by 24:00 Le Mans in 2026. In addition, the tire recycling sector, which extracts raw materials from used tires again, is also creating another footprint.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
