The performance of his MICHELIN tyres proved vital for Rodney Jane and his co-driver Nick Percat in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia this weekend.
Strategy saw the team Jane and Percat were running with, Team BRM, run only one set of MICHELIN tyres during both qualifying sessions on Saturday, leaving them six brand new MICHELIN tyres to use during the two, one hour races on Sunday.
The performance of the tyres during the weekend impressed both Jane and Percat.
“I was really impressed with the performance of the MICHELIN tyres all weekend; even after running the same set in both qualifying sessions, they continued to deliver great, consistent pace in my stint in the first race on Sunday. Their balance and performance allowed me to settle into a solid rhythm almost straight away and stay there,” said Jane after the race.
“When Nick jumped into the car at the driver change, we fitted the brand new set of MICHELIN tyres to the Porsche allowing Nick to be super quick and storm through the field. He took the lead in the closing stages of the race and went on to claim victory for us in race one.”
In race two, it was Nick that started the race and the team fitted their final two new tyres to the front of the Porsche.
“When Nick handed the car over to me the tyres were still in good condition and I was able to once again run at a solid and consistent pace,” Jane continued.
“I have really enjoyed being back racing in Carrera Cup on MICHELIN tyres this weekend – I have been really impressed with the performance of the tyres. Hopefully I will have an opportunity to race in this category again.
“What I was most surprised by was the performance of the wet MICHELIN tyres, both at the test day at Phillip Island last week, and on Friday here at Sydney Motorsport Park. Even on used wet tyres I was blown away by the grip they offered. It really was a case of comparing chalk and cheese when I compare them to what I have driven on in the past.”
Percat was equally impressed with the performance of the MICHELIN tyres this weekend.
“I was expecting the performance of the MICHELIN tyres to spike early and drop off, but this did not happen. They came up gradually and remained at that level for my whole stint meaning I was able to set my fastest laps right at the end of my stint,” said Percat.
“For what is essentially a soft tyre, the durability of the MICHELIN tyre is also noticeable. Unlike other tyres I have raced on, minor brake lock-ups do not damage these tyres or cause the tyre to vibrate.”
The performance both drivers, and indeed the whole Porsche Carrera Cup Australia field experienced, is thanks to the work undertaken by Michelin to ensure that its tyres work in perfect harmony with its global partners’ cars, including Porsche.
The ability of Michelin’s developers to design solutions capable of delivering high performance over long periods of time is complex; indeed, durability and performance are often viewed as conflicting qualities. However, thanks to Michelin technology, they can be reconciled and this approach lies at the very heart of the Group’s research and development strategy, which is known as the MICHELIN Total Performance concept
Next up for the MICHELIN Motorsport team in Australia will be the fourth round of Porsche Carrera Cup Australia which returns to the V8 Supercar programme in July at the Townsville 400.
Before then MICHELIN will have the biggest race on its calendar, the 24 hours of Le Mans. Here they will be out to continue to dominate the race and claim its 16th race victory in a row.
