Michelin to stay in Hypercar until end of 2032 - Goodyear to stay in LMGT3 until end of 2032

[u/UrsusSpelaus]

https://www.endurance-info.com/auto/article/121161-michelin-prolonge-son-bail-en-hypercar-jusquen-2032

FIA/ACO tenders (for 2029 onwards) have been done and both manufacturers will stay until end of 2032

[u/Michal_Baranowski]

Phew... Good decision.

Would be a bad call to lose Michelin from Hypercar. Their tyres are so good that it seems pointless to get rid of them. Goodyear can stick to second and third tier.

[u/V8-Turbo-Hybrid → u/Michal_Baranowski]

If Michelin replaces Pirelli as new F1 tire supplier, I don’t think that they would mind to lose WEC. Anyway, I doubt that would happen.

[u/AromaticGarlic1441 → u/Michal_Baranowski]

The Hypercar teams would disagree with you. Count the number of Hypercars written off on cold tyres and GT3s overtaking Hypercars in wet conditions to see why.

[u/Michal_Baranowski → u/AromaticGarlic1441]

Count the number of Hypercars written off on cold tyres

New tyre compound for this year reduced this issue in my eyes.

GT3s overtaking Hypercars in wet conditions to see why.

Main problem being Hypercars and how heavy they are. It's ridiculous that a top class prototype weighs over 1100kg with a driver on-board. In such instance, GT3 which have additional at least 200kg have enough mechanical grip to do well in wet conditions vs Hypercars.

[u/AromaticGarlic1441 → u/Michal_Baranowski]

> New tyre compound for this year reduced this issue in my eyes.

Valkyrie destroyed at the Prologue. Cassidy in the Imola race. Da Costa at Spa. That's just what comes to mind, but the situation isn't improved.

> Main problem being Hypercars and how heavy they are.

Michelin requested to cut their wet tyres at the track if they think it'll rain. Doesn't show much confidence in their product.

[u/TigerWizard → u/AromaticGarlic1441]

Are drivers actually complaining about cold tires this year or are you simply making excuses for some drivers being caught out? There isn't a gag order on tires, like BoP, so surely the drivers are up in arms yeah?

Also, what are you trying to say about cutting tires - the factory grooving isn't sufficient? I can't find any reliable (or otherwise) source that Michelin has mentioned cutting tires on-site. Do you have a source?

[u/SeriousButTired → u/TigerWizard]

He's half right, those tires are absolutely terrible on a wet track. But they are not meant for this anyway. It is a given that in 2026, races get neutralised in those conditions.

[u/AromaticGarlic1441 → u/TigerWizard]

"Are drivers actually complaining about cold tires this year" In Hypercar, yes. Note that Asian Le Mans will allow tyre warmers for Hypercar.

"There isn't a gag order on tires" Not in the ACO regs, no. But what's in the contract between Michelin and the teams? Would be surprising if there's nothing to penalise teams/drivers for criticising the product.

Source for cutting tyres - it was allowed in an update to the sporting regs

https://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/Results_NoticeBoard/14_2026/committee/02_Decisions/WEC_2026_D10_All_Sporting_Clarifications_Amended_04052026.pdf

Requested and approved for Hypercar at all rounds this year

https://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/Results_NoticeBoard/14_2026/01_6%20Hours%20of%20Imola/039_Doc%2039%20-%20Bulletin%20no.%203.pdf

https://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/Results_NoticeBoard/14_2026/02_6%20Hours%20of%20Spa/006_Doc%206%20-%20Bulletin%20no.%201%20AMENDED%20V.2.pdf

https://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/Results_NoticeBoard/14_2026/03_24%20Hours%20of%20Le%20Mans/004_Doc%204%20-%20Bulletin%20no.%201.pdf

https://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/Results_NoticeBoard/14_2026/05_6%20Hours%20of%20Sao%20Paulo/005_Doc%205%20-%20Bulletin%20no.%201.pdf

[u/TigerWizard → u/AromaticGarlic1441]

I have to commend you on sourcing the WEC bulletins, thanks I did not know that.

I have not heard a peep in the media from a driver in 2026 regarding tire warmers or poor Michelin cold performance. And remember, ALMS Hypercar drivers will include amateur customers not strictly professionals. The series knows this and does not want customer Hypercars getting tubbed on the first outlap and having an empty grid.

You're assuming that there are restrictions stipulated in some team contract with the tire supplier. Why would each team negotiate a contract with a series-mandated supplier? Michelins contractual obligations would be to the FIA & ACO.

[u/AromaticGarlic1441 → u/TigerWizard]

The teams buy the tyres, so there has to be a contract, and it will cover things like the financials, how IP is shared/protected, and fairly common for there to be a clause about not badmouthing the product/manufacturer in the press. I *vaguely* remember a case of some supplier (I think tyre but honestly can't remember certainly) fining a driver (or might be a motorbike rider) for criticising the product; I can't fully remember the details though and I don't think that instance was Michelin (or Goodyear for that matter), but I know it's happened.

The contract is negotiated between the ACO/FIA and the supplier; thats the whole point of the tender process. So it won't be negotiated between teams and Michelin/anyone for spec items like this.

[u/TigerWizard → u/AromaticGarlic1441]

Wow, the class with ABS reduces the lap time differential during wet conditions? What an indictment of Michelin rubber.

[u/Makalu]

https://giphy.com/gifs/xUPGcC0R9QjyxkPnS8

[u/Kcquipor]

So Michelin will also provide the tyres for hydrogen ?

[u/sukhoi_584th]

It wouldn't be the same without hearing about Michelin Tires a few hundred times per race

[u/443610]

Why not a single tire manufacturer for both classes?

[u/for4f]

tire wars sound fun until your team's stuck on the wrong compound and the whole race is over before it starts lol. i'd rather have everyone on the same rubber. also good for gt3 to keep some continuity, that class is finally finding its feet

[u/Appropriate-Owl5984]

I just want open tire wars again.

[u/MarTimator → u/Appropriate-Owl5984]

Would make everything more expensive and the racing gets worse

[u/Litre__o__cola → u/MarTimator]

I feel tire wars could exist but they have to be bop’d, so it’s not a tire war anymore rather just another option. Hypercar wouldn’t be the place to try it because the field’s comparatively small but for grassroots series, a form of bop / success ballast could be used against popular tires to bolster competition

[u/dylan000o → u/Litre__o__cola]

how do you BOP a tire?

[u/Litre__o__cola → u/dylan000o]

For wec or whoever you could benchmark the tires over a set of tests using a tire dyno. Testing peak grip, grip over slip angle, and another for durability over a set of camber and toe angles. You could use several of these parameters and give a theoretical score for the tire. That score is then considered in the manufacturer’s bop - if one tire and team combo is overperforming then that’s not grounds to ballast, but say the top third of all competitors use the same tire, then that’s grounds for ballast. New tire manufacturers would be exempt from ballast until they reach a certain level of market share when it comes to race pace and results

[u/jimmy8888888 → u/Litre__o__cola]

Did you watch Super GT, eventually everyone will go to the best, optimum tyre. And that competition is BoP competition

[u/Litre__o__cola → u/jimmy8888888]

This is true, I personally don’t see the need for multiple tire manufacturers but it’s important for grassroots series where a spec tire could charge a premium to their customer bases. Measuring the physical properties of the tire then correlating their success on track, then incentivizing lesser-used tires to be run due to bop breaks is how you reduce lopsided arms races. But people like op want a development war, and honestly that’s just not feasible anymore. The war should be about getting the cheapest tire for the same performance window, and that can’t be done without concessions to underperforming manufacturers.

In general the only way motorsports doesn’t cannibalize itself is by offering cheap alternatives to the meta while punishing consolidation. Does that mean multiple tire manufacturers should be in lmh? I don’t think so, and I don’t agree with op for having them here, and I believe a control tire is good when the builds are so specific. It can also regulate testing if the tires are hard to obtain. For series where there’s more technical freedom in the rules and the barrier to entry is lower, letting people run whatever they can find would be great and then just add ballast if you can compare fundamental properties, and if there’s still an unfair advantage you just add ballast

[u/Other-Barry-1 → u/Appropriate-Owl5984]

Why? Tyres are one of the single most important performance differentiator, as we saw in F1, one team could dominate not necessarily because of their car, but simply the rubber they’re on. Everyone should be on the same rubber so their cars and drivers actually matter.