The new hypercar tires, which were planned to be launched for the 2025 season, will not arrive until the start of the 2026 season at the earliest – there were “fewer testing opportunities than expected “
The introduction of the revised Michelin tires, which was planned for the 2025 season, has been postponed by one year: Because there were “fewer testing opportunities than expected”, the new tires will not be used until the start of the 2026 season at the earliest.
Michelin is currently developing a new series of Michelin Pilot Sport racing tires for the Hypercar and GTP classes of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the American IMSA SportsCar Championship, which should offer several advantages over the current generation of tires.
“The aim of this future product line is to improve the warm-up phase, especially with harder compounds, while at the same time increasing durability and service life,” explains Pierre Alves, Head of Michelin’s endurance program.
“The new tires will also contain more renewable and recycled materials,” adds the Frenchman. The new Michelin tires were originally planned to be introduced for the coming season, but will now be used for the 2026 Daytona 24 Hours at the earliest.
Current tires “integrated into the BoP process “
“In consultation with all partners and the sporting authorities, Michelin decided to take more time as there were fewer testing opportunities than expected this year,” explains Alves. Last week, a test was held at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, in which most of the hypercar/GTP manufacturers took part.
However, as there were fewer overall testing opportunities for the new tires than expected, Michelin, in collaboration with the WEC, FIA, ACO and IMSA rule makers, decided to postpone the launch by one year.
“The current Michelin Pilot Sport Endurance Series is perfectly aligned with the requirements of the FIA WEC and the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship and has already been integrated into the BoP process,” said Alves. “That’s why we will continue to use them in 2025. “
