Michelin will introduce a new range of slick tyres for the World Endurance Championship and the IMSA SportsCar Championship next year produced from 50% sustainable materials.
The French tyre supplier has surpassed its original target to increase the percentage of the renewable and recycled components of the tyres used in Hypercar in WEC and GTP in IMSA from the 40% announced.
It presents an increase from the 30% of sustainables that make up the current range of tyres introduced at the start of the 2023 in the world championship and the North American series in which Michelin is the sole supplier in the top class.
Michelin has confirmed the introduction of the new Pilot Sport Endurance range for 2026 ahead of the start of track action for the Le Mans 24 Hours, the centrepiece round of the WEC, with the Test Day this weekend.
The new range marks Michelin’s first mass-volume tyre produced with such a high level of recycled and renewable materials.
A total of 30,000 units will be produced each year, which contrasts with the low volumes in which tyres with similar levels of sustainables have been made for the MotoE World Cup electric motorcycle series and those used on the Mission H24 hydrogen fuel-cell demonstrators.
The use of new materials and technologies in the WEC tyres is part of Michelin’s drive to introduce tyres made from 100% sustainable materials for the road by 2050.
Michelin slick tyres made from 50% sustainable materials, WEC Test Paul Ricard
Photo by: Michelin
“Motorsport, a laboratory for performance and technological development, now also accelerates sustainable technologies,” said Michelin motorsport boss Matthieu Bonardel.
“At a time when our vehicles need durable equipment, racing lets us go faster and further in transferring technology from track to street.
“That is why we have launched a complete overhaul of our endurance range with a clear objective: to incorporate 50% renewable and recycled materials while increasing overall performance.”
The new range will, like the existing tyres, incorporate three specifications of slick – soft, medium and hard: Michelin brings two to the regular WEC races with all three being available for Le Mans.
The aim was to produce tyres that were equal to the existing range in terms of one-lap performance, but with enhanced warm-up following the ban on tyre warmers at the start of 2023 and improved durability.
Michelin has raised the prospect of a reduction in the allocation of tyres for each car over the course of a regular WEC event, which currently stands at four and a half sets or 18 tyres for a six-hour race, and higher multiples of stints on four tyres at Le Mans.
Philippe Tramond, motorsport technical director at Michelin, suggested that might be possible for 2027 with the necessary rule change.
“We have to understand how this new range will perform and then after that the aim is to reduce the number of tyres each car uses over an event,” he explained.
Michelin slick tyres made from 50% sustainable materials, WEC Test Paul Ricard
Photo by: Michelin
“We need to give time to the teams to understand the tyres and how to exploit them.”
Michel tested 11 new materials defined as renewable or recycled during development of its 2026 tyres and has ended up retaining seven. It also tried 14 what it called “technical bricks” during development and is using five in the new range.
Development of the 2026 WEC and IMSA tyres will conclude with a final test at Watkins Glen at the end of this month after which the specifications will be fixed before production begins in September.
The tyres will be released to the manufacturers and teams in mid-November at the time of the traditional IMSA sanction test.
A new Michelin wet-weather tyre is also under development, but a date for its introduction has not be set while stocks of the existing wet are used up.
The new slicks incorporate what Michelin is calling a “micro velvet effect” that looks like a tread pattern.
Michelin sportscar operations manager Pierre Alves said that this has been conceived “to make the invisible visible”.
Michelin slick tyres made from 50% sustainable materials, WEC Test Paul Ricard
Photo by: Michelin
“Every time we bring an innovation, the tyres are still black and round,” he explained. “There are new things inside these tyres, so what better way to show it than to have something that is visible?”
Michelin has the supply deal for the WEC’s Hypercar class until the conclusion of the 2029 season.
That is the current end of the lifecycle of the Le Mans Hypercar and LMDh rulesets, though it is looking increasingly certain they will be extended, with an announcement on the cards for Le Mans week.
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