Michelin‘s unique ‘Hybrid’ tyre provided the base for the LMP1 qualifying assault today as the mixed weather conditions played havoc with the field.
The tyre was launched at Le Mans in 2012 but hadn’t had the opportunity to be used in anger at a race track since.
Michelin’s Total Performance strategy has led to the development of the Hybrid tyres following several seasons of work to increase versatility of their tyres using new materials and techniques.
The hybrid tyre works as a bridge between the traditional intermediate tyre and a full slick; the development of the tyre resulted in a ‘treadless’ intermediate tyre which performs well in wet conditions and on a drying track, where traditional patterned intermediate tyres would normally overheat and lose traction.
With the weather looking brighter tomorrow the teams will be using more traditional slicks but the French tyre manufacturer has opened the door for a restructure of the traditional soft, medium and hard compounds with the introduction of temperature spread.
