Michelin says the “track to street” transfer of tyre technology through its sponsorship of the upcoming Formula E championship will also trickle down to tooling.
The French manufacturer will be the sole supplier for the ten-race all-electric series when it starts in Beijing this September and showcased its product at last week’s Formula E test days at the UK’s Donnington motorsport track.
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Part of Michelin’s rationale behind supplying the new championship is the accelerated development of its tyre technology through the real-life “laboratory” afforded by competitive races, as well as its in-house production.
“What we will do in a laboratory, we will do in six months [with the races],” Michelin global Formula E manager, Serge Grisin, told just-auto at Donnington.
“Competition is a big innovation accelerator. We learn a lot to improve our development [of] tools by competition. We have been selected to be the tyre partner for Formula E at the end of March, 2013. We had to have the first tyre available at the beginning of September, so we only had five months.
“All that we can use for street tyres to accelerate development. The track to street transfer is not only on technologies, but also on design tools.”
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By GlobalDataThe global Formula E manager added there was “huge interest” in the FIA-backed Formula E competition, which has already secured significant sponsorship from Michelin, as well as other brands such as DHL, Qualcomm, Renault and Tag Heuer, while the tyre manufacturer was also thinking about ways to “make the show.”
The inaugural season will see ten teams, each with two drivers, with all confirmed and approved by the FIA.
Each team will run four Spark-Renault SRT-01E Formula E cars, two per driver, with the cars and operations based at a purpose-built central workshop at Donnington Park, part of a number of steps to reduce overall running costs.
From season two Formula E will become an ‘open championship’ allowing teams to design and develop their own cars – in accordance to technical specifications set out by the FIA – and showcasing their electrical energy innovations in a competitive, racing environment.
Michelin will feature its 18″ Pilot Sport EV tyres, which it says can operate in either wet or dry conditions, while only one set will be used for practice, qualifying and the race itself.
The new tyre is narrower and taller than those usually associated with single seater racing, aiding rolling resistance levels, says Michelin.
“Running narrower tyres results in an immediate gain in terms of rolling resistance, because there is less friction with the ground and they are more aerodynamically efficient,” said Grisin.
“We are working hard in this area and learning a lot, with Formula E serving as a technological locomotive for the Group.”
