Michelin preparing for Australia's 'Bathurst 12 Hour' challenge

ERJ staff report (TP)

New South Wales, Australia − Preparations for Michelin’s 2014 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour touring car campaign are well underway with many tire orders in and a shipment already on its way from France, reported OzRacingWrap.

In 2013 Michelin partner and race winner, Erebus Motorsport, credited the performance of their Michelin tires with helping them win the challenging race. The performance was replicated up and down the pit lane with eight out of the top ten choosing to run Michelin tires.

One key difference for the teams and the tire manufacturers competing on the track in 2014 will be the new surface that is currently being laid around the circuit.

The Michelin technical team have been in contact with the Council and have collected a sample of the surface before the resurfacing began. Earlier this week the team received a sample of the new surface. These samples are now being sent to France for analysis in Michelin’s Technology Centre.

For the 2014 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, Michelin will have a more experienced technical team at the track than ever before. The size and depth of the technical team will be bolstered with engineers having more than 30 years’ experience.

Michelin has a “long and successful history in motorsport” – particularly in endurance racing, including dominating categories with open tire competition including the World Endurance Championship, and of course the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hour.

The tires Michelin will bring with them to the Bathurst 12 Hour have been developed with the needs of specific vehicles in mind, and have won multiple races and Championships around the world in 2013 with Michelin’s GT partners. Their successes with these tires include victories in the GT classes in the World Endurance Championship, Asian Le Mans Series, and the Macau GT Cup.

Michelin said: “This success is [because] its tires work in perfect harmony with its partners’ cars and depends on the ability of Michelin’s developers to design solutions capable of delivering high performance over long periods of time.

“Indeed, durability and performance are often viewed as conflicting qualities. However, thanks to technology, they can be reconciled and this approach lies at the very heart of the Group’s research and development strategy, which is known as the Michelin Total Performance concept.”

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Full story from OzRacingWrap