Michelin posts strong Le Mans entry.

A total of 23 cars will be riding on Michelin tyres at Le Mans this year, as the French manufacturer fields runners throughout the sportscar classic's field.

In the LMP900 division, Michelin-shod cars include the factory-supported efforts from Audi, Cadillac, Chrysler and Panoz as well as the Champion (Audi), Johansson (Audi), Pescarolo (Courage) and Racing for Holland (Dome) teams.

In the LMP675 category, Michelin tyres will be fitted on the two factory MGs, as well as a Reynard from ROC Auto and a WR from Walter Gerard. The Chrysler Vipers from Larbre Competition and Equipe de France FFS will be riding on Michelin tyres in the GTS category, while, in GT, a pair of Porsches from Luc Alphand Adventur and Larbre Competition will also be fitted with the French rubber.

Despite being a European company, Michelin will boast a strong American presence at La Sarthe, with the Panoz and Champion Racing teams - based in Georgia and Florida respectively - riding on its tyres in France. American-based Cadillac and Chrysler have also selected Michelin for their Le Mans efforts. Cadillac will be undertaking its first season on Michelins this year, the luxury carmaker having chosen the French tyres for Le Mans and the American Le Mans Series [ALMS] for the first time in 2001.

The event could be an historic one for Michelin, as it goes for four wins in a row. The company has won the three most recent 24 Hours - with Porsche in 1998, BMW in 1999 and Audi in 2000. Overall, Michelin has won six of the last nine endurance classics. The signs already bode well, as a Michelin-shod Audi recorded the fastest time overall at open practice on 6 May. In fact, Michelin tyres were on seven of the top nine cars.

The company will make five all-new dry weather and four wet weather rubber and construction solutions available to its teams at La Sarthe this year. The different solutions will allow its teams to have the correct tyre for any track condition. Michelin will also have tyres, referred to as 'jokers', that it believes will be competitive, but have not had the chance to be validated under race conditions. Once a car is out of the running for a top finish, the company will fit these tyres and test them. If they prove to be competitive, they will then be made available to a top-running car.

An example of this occurred as far back as 1995, when a new rain tyre was validated on a Venturi that had dropped down the leaderboard. When the new tyres were fitted, the Venturi was suddenly the fastest car on the track. The new tyres were then installed on the second-place McLaren of Dalmas/Lehto/Sekiya, which proceeded to pass its team-mates and take victory.

Michelin opened the 2001 ALMS campaign with victories at Texas and Sebring, and currently leads the ALMS Tyre Championship with 55 points to Goodyear's 20 in the LMP900 category. Michelin also has 55 points in the GT category, putting it ahead of Yokohama (41), Goodyear (11) and Dunlop (10). The French company is the defending ALMS Tyre Champion in the LMP900, GTS and GT categories.