Porsche Post race photo
Posted on January 27, 2014

Michelin Impressive in Return to Daytona

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DAYTONA, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2014) – Michelin made a highly successful return to the Rolex 24 At Daytona and helped kick off a new era in North American motorsports with an impressive GT Le Mans (GTLM) class victory at this weekend’s launch of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

The Porsche 911 RSR fielded by the recently created Porsche North America team and driven by Richard Lietz, Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet claimed the GTLM class victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The win, the 76th for Porsche at Daytona, backs up the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours GT class victory by the new Porsche 911 RSR.

“Michelin successfully faced a number of challenges in returning to Daytona International Speedway for the first time in 13 years and did so with technical partners that had never raced their current cars here,” said Ken Payne, motorsports technical director for Michelin North America.

“It is a compliment to the teams and our Michelin engineers and developers that our technical partner teams from Aston Martin, BMW Team RLL, Corvette Racing, Risi Competizione Ferrari, Porsche North America and SRT Viper experienced good tire performance and reliability and were able to lap within a very tight range,” said Payne. “We leave here feeling very tired and glad to be back at Daytona.”

Michelin was chosen by all 11 entries competing in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, the only class in the new series offering open tire competition.

The Michelin technical partners included all six auto manufacturers and the five factory teams: Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Porsche and SRT Viper entered.

Finishing second in GTLM was the BMW Z4 of BMW Team RLL driven by Bill Auberlen, Andy Priaulx, Joey Hand and Maxime Martin.

Finishing third after qualifying on the class pole and leading the early stages of the 24 hour race was the SRT Viper of Marc Goossens, Dominik Farnbacher and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

The series is the result of the merger of the former American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and the GRAND-AM Rolex Series.

The race was won by Sebastian Bourdais, Joao Barbosa, and Christian Fittipaldi in the Action Express Corvette DP prototype.

Recognizing Hidden Heroes:

While drivers and team principals typically gain the glory, 24 members of the GTLM winning Porsche North America team will enjoy a special reward. Each will receive a set of Michelin passenger car or light truck tires for their personal vehicle.

Overcoming Obstacles:

Prior to the event, Chris Baker, director of motorsports for Michelin North America, presented crystal Michelin Man statues to series co-founders Jim France, Dr. Don Panoz, and International Motor Sports Association President Scott Atherton and CEO Ed Bennett to recognize their passion, commitment and leadership in overcoming all obstacles to unify sports car racing in North America with the new series.

Next Stop:

“We gained a lot of valuable data and insights here this week and we look forward to the next round of the TUDOR Championship at Sebring, Fla. on March 15,” said Payne.

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For more information, visit www.michelinmedia.com or contact:                                                                 

Craig Hodges                                                                        John Love

Michelin North America                                                     EMC Strategic Communications

office: 1 864 458 4698                                                      office: 1 248 816 0106

craig.hodges@us.michelin.com                                        mobile: 1 313 506 2114

                                                                                                john@emcstrategic.com

 

 

 

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About Michelin North America

Michelin, the leading mobility company, is working with tires, around tires and beyond tires to enable Motion for Life. Dedicated to enhancing its clients’ mobility and sustainability, Michelin designs and distributes the most suitable tires, services and solutions for its customers’ needs. Michelin provides digital services, maps and guides to help enrich trips and travels and make them unique experiences. Bringing its expertise to new markets, the company is investing in high-technology materials, 3D printing and hydrogen, to serve a wide variety of industries — from aerospace to biotech. Headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, Michelin North America has approximately 22,500 employees and operates 34 production facilities in the United States and Canada. (michelinman.com