Endurance winning tyre manufacturers Michelin have announced a new award for the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans in a bid to promote sustainable mobility with a prize of €1 Million given to the winner.
The French company – which will shod the entire LMP1-L and LMP1-H category in the World Endurance Championship – have announced that the prize will be given to the team which fulfils the below categories in the 2014 running of the race, which will see nine entries in the top class:
• Criterion N°1: Victory
To be considered for this prize, the team must win the Le Mans 24 Hours outright.
• Criterion N°2: Performance over a single lap
The winning car must also post the fastest race lap.
• Criterion N°3: A new distance record
The winning crew must beat the race’s distance record. Since 2011, it has stood at 5,410km.
• Criterion N°4: Reduced fuel consumption
The winner must achieve a fuel consumption saving of at least 15 percent over the average amount of energy consumed by the LMP1 finishers in 2013.
• Criterion N°5: Low consumption of tyres
The number of tyres used by the winning crew during the race must not exceed nine sets.
The company believes this new competition follows on perfectly from the Green X Challenge – which was prevalent in the American Le Mans Series – as Pascal Couasnon, the Director of Michelin Motorsport explains: “In the world of motorsport, Michelin is a technical partner which contributes to giving real meaning to the discipline. In accordance with this principle, and in association with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the Michelin Green X Challenge was introduced in 2009 as an integral part of endurance racing’s regulations. The objective of the challenge was to reward the sport’s most energy-efficient competitors. The Michelin Total Performance Award marks the next phase of the company’s responsible involvement in motorsport, from both the societal and environmental points of view.”
