Michelin Quick Facts - American Le Mans Grand Prix of Portland
August 3-5 (Portland International Raceway)
* Michelin Momentum - Coming off another dominating performance in American Le Mans Series (ALMS) competition at Sears Point Raceway last weekend, Michelin teams are preparing for the American Le Mans Grand Prix of Portland, scheduled for Aug. 5, at Portland International Raceway.
A total of 10 cars will be riding on Michelin tires at Portland, including the Le Mans-winning Audi team, which will enter a pair of Audi R8 machines. Panoz Motorsports will have a pair of Panoz LMP1 Roadster S entries and Champion Racing will field an Audi R8.
The GT category is garnering a lot of attention this season as the battle between Porsche and BMW continues to heat up. Michelin's Porsche entries will come from Alex Job Racing and Peterson Motorsports while its BMW entries will come from BMW Motorsport.
* Track Temperatures A Challenge - The track in Portland is very challenging for tire engineers because of unusual track temperatures. At most venues, track temperatures are typically 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the ambient temperature.
But that's not the case at Portland. For unexplainable reasons, the track temperatures are routinely 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the ambient temperature. "We have tried to understand this phenomenon...we have run several tests and haven't found anything out of the ordinary," said Jerry Rinaldo, Michelin Racing Manager.
"It could even be the soil under the track. No one seems to know." Michelin engineers will closely monitor track temperatures and make sure that its cars have tires with a rubber compound that can withstand the high temperatures. "Track temperature will be the most determining factor in deciding which tires to race on," said Rinaldo.
* Last Year At Portland - Michelin clinched the ALMS Tire Championship for the prototype category. En route to the victory, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello were able to run a single set of Michelin tires on the rear of their Audi for all but 15 minutes of the race without a drop-off in performance, a remarkable feat. "I ran like hell and the tires were able to stand up to it," said McNish after the race. Michelin-shod cars also won the GTS and GT categories with Dodge Viper and Porsche respectively.
* Formula One Update - Michelin re-entered Formula One competition this season and has already posted two victories. Michelin supplies tires to the BMW WilliamsF1, Jaguar Racing, Benetton Powered by Renault Sport, Prost Grand Prix and Minardi teams. After 11 of 17 races, Michelin has scored victories at San Marino and Montreal, a pole at Magny-Cours and has led several races. The next race is the Grand Prix of Germany this weekend.
* Michelin Leads ALMS Tire Championship - Michelin opened the 2001 ALMS season with victories at Texas, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Sears Point. As a result, Michelin currently leads the ALMS Tire Championship with 80 points over Goodyear's 34 in the LMP900 category. Michelin has 80 points in the GT category, ahead of Yokohama (60), Dunlop (20) and Goodyear (11). Michelin won ALMS Tire Championships for the LMP900, GTS and GT categories in 2000.
* Michelin manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks, motorcycles and the space shuttle. The company also publishes travel guides, maps and atlases covering Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.
Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelin.com) employs 26,500 and operates 23 plants in 19 locations.
For more information, contact:
Bob Andrew
Event Management Corp.
Tel: 313-449-0108
Cell: 313-510-8454
E-mail: bob@emcpr.com