Risi Competizione’s Le Mans champs & Scott Sharp’s new arrivals both choose Michelin
One of sports car racing’s most successful teams, and one of its newest, have two things in common; both have chosen Ferrari F430GT cars and Michelin tires for their 2010 American Le Mans Series campaigns. The defending 24 Hours of Le Mans GT2 champion Risi Competizione and the new Extreme Speed Motorsports head into 2010 ALMS competition with Michelin.
LMP1 contenders start second seasom with Michelin partnership
Drayson Racing, the United Kingdom-based team owned by Elspeth, Lady Drayson and Paul, Lord Drayson, has announced the choice of MICHELIN as technical partner for their Lola-Judd prototype competing in the 2010 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“With Michelin, I can say they are a true partner to Drayson Racing,” said Dale White, Drayson Racing’s Team Manager. “I have worked with nearly every tire manufacturer in the business and the approach Michelin takes is proven again and again by their success. Michelin is a company committed to the same core principles that we are; performance, the environment, professionalism and family. Michelin knows the lessons that can be learned from our sport and they take what they learn on the track – be it adhesion, rolling resistance, manufacturing techniques and put it into their street tires.”
Two-time ALMS GT Champions choose Michelin for ALMS GT challenge
Sonoma-based Flying Lizard Motorsports, the two-time defending GT2 class champion, enters 2010 American Le Mans Series competition with Michelin as its technical partner for the seventh consecutive year. The Flying Lizard Motorsports – Porsche – Michelin combination has produced 15 ALMS class wins, two manufacturer, two team and two driver championships.
America’s Iconic Sports Car Team Chooses Michelin for 2010 season
Corvette Racing made a big move in the second half of the 2009 American Le Mans Series, leaving behind the GT1 category where they had dominated the competition. They will not have that problem joining the uber-competitive ALMS GT category where they face factory-supported teams from Porsche, Ferrari, BMW and Jaguar.
Developing the new GT Corvette, the Corvette Racing team has made a number of changes. The new GT Corvette has new production-style bodywork, a new aero package based on the Corvette ZR1 supercar, a smaller 5.5-liter GM smallblock V8 engine and steel disc brakes in place of the carbon brakes used previously in the GT1 class.
One decision was easy, continuing the successful technical partnership with Michelin that began in 2004 and combined for 52 GT1 wins, five GT1 class championships and four victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“We work very closely with Michelin and in fact, the Michelin engineer who led their tire development for the Corvette ZR1 is our Michelin tire engineer at the race track. You cannot have a closer feedback loop than that,” said Doug Fehan, program manager of Corvette Racing.
Team CytoSport/Porsche choose Michelin
When Greg Pickett and Klaus Graf debuted the Muscle Milk Porsche RS Spyder at the 2009 American Le Mans Series round at Mid-Ohio last August they were not quite sure what to expect of their new steed. They did however know what to expect from their Michelin tires. What they expected and what their Benicia, CA-based Team CytoSport got were results.
With four podium finishes in four starts, including a pair of seconds at Mid-Ohio, and Laguna Seca, and a dazzling stint by Graf in the wet at Petit Le Mans, Pickett and Graf were suddenly in the thick of the LMP2 prototype battles at every race.
That trend is expected to continue as they enter the 2010 American Le Mans Series for the full season. Pickett, a Trans-Am series champion and Graf, a veteran in international sports car competition and former ALMS winner are accustomed to success.
As the “preferred technical partner” for Porsche worldwide, Michelin and Porsche will once again team up on one of the most sophisticated cars on the American Le Mans Series grid, the Porsche RS Spyder. The prototype was developed exclusively on Michelin tires and all 24 ALMS wins for Porsche RS Spyders have come with Michelin.
“It is a great thing for Team CytoSport and for Muscle Milk to be associated with world class technical partners like Porsche and Michelin,” said Pickett. “We were able to be competitive right from the start because of the efforts by our team and the work that had already been done by Porsche and Michelin.”
Le Mans winning team and ALMS champion driver know Michelin delivers
Aston Martin Racing knows the difference, as does Adrian Fernandez. So, when Fernandez, the 2009 Twelve Hours of Sebring LMP2 class winner and American Le Mans Series Champion, decided to team with Aston Martin Racing, one decision was easy. “We both wanted to choose Michelin,” said Fernandez. Both Aston Martin Racing and Fernandez have separately enjoyed considerable success with Michelin.
Since entering the ALMS Series in 2007, all eight of Fernandez’s ALMS wins and his 2009 championship have come with Michelin. “Michelin was a key part of our success,” said Fernandez. “We were frequently able to double-stint our Michelin tires because they were so consistent that we could run the same lap times for two full stints.”
“Michelin is very pleased to continue our long technical partnership with Aston Martin Racing and our championship winning relationship with Adrian Fernandez,” said Silvia Mammone, Michelin Motorsports manager.
