Michelin reports that its motorsports teams “are in the thick of the fight” for individual event wins and American Le Mans Series Championships as the series heads to Canada’s Mosport International Raceway for the Aug. 30 Round 8 racing program.
The hilly, fast 2.549-mile track presents big challenges for both the racers and the tires, says Karl Koenigstein, Michelin’s technical team leader.
“Mosport is very tough on tires,” he explains. “The high speeds and eight right turns abuse the outside (left side) tires. That makes tire selection very important. Each team must select the right Michelin tire compound and construction option to match their strategy for the 2-hour 45-minute race.”
The drivers “want both exceptional grip and extended wear, and they do not want to compromise, so our job is to provide them with the technologies and the combinations to help them continue their success,” Koenigstein says.
Leading the way is a pair of radical “wide tire” Acura prototypes featuring rear-size tires on the front of the innovative cars, which have six wins in the first seven races.
David Brabham and Scott Sharp have scored a pair of race wins aboard the Patrón Highcroft Acura to lead the closely contested championship by just 13 points over four-race winners Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud in the de Ferran Motorsports Acura.
Meanwhile, Acura is looking to claim championships with Michelin in both Series Prototype categories as Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz have parlayed six LMP2 class wins into a 55-point lead over the Dyson Racing Lola Mazda coupes of Butch Leitzinger and Marino Franchitti.
Supporting the Dyson duo will be teammates Chris Dyson and Guy Smith in a twin entry. A victory by the Fernandez squad will clinch the LMP2 class manufacturer, team and driver titles, according to Koenigstein.
The series’ GT2 class “has produced a powerful and deep field” led by Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche’s Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long, who saw their record five-race win streak end at Road America by the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team duo of Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand. The victory was the first Series class win by a non-Michelin team in nearly a year.
“Adding to the GT2 intrigue are the 2008 and 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans champions Jaime Melo and Pierre Kaffer from Michelin technical partners Risi Competizione Ferrari, and Corvette Racing’s exciting new GT2 class entries with drivers Johnny O’Connell and Jan Magnussen, and Olivier Beretta teamed with Oliver Gavin,” Koenigstein continues. Completing the Michelin roster and hoping to help Porsche celebrate its 100th series class win are the Flying Lizard Porsche of Seth Neiman and Darren Law and the Farnbacher Loles Porsche with Dirk Werner and Wolf Henzler.
Michelin-sponsored racers have already locked up the LMP1 and GT2 tire championships for the 10th consecutive year, while also claiming a fourth consecutive LMP2 tire championship.
For more information, visit www.michelinman.com.
