24h Le Mans
MICHELIN places significant importance on its car and motorcycle endurance racing programmes. Both disciplines call for an indispensable combination of performance and race-long consistency and stand out as perfect illustrations of MICHELIN’s Total Performance concept at the very highest level. The Total Performance concept itself is central to the French tyre manufacturer’s strategy and consists in delivering outstanding performance in seemingly irreconcilable areas thanks to the development of unique technologies.
The latest evidence of MICHELIN’s commitment to endurance racing is its agreement with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) to be the exclusive partner of the new standings tower erected beside the pit-lane exit, along the main straight of the Le Mans 24 Hours circuit. This 25-metre tall edifice will display the provisional order throughout the race and will be known as the “MICHELIN Ranking Tower”.
The “MICHELIN Ranking Tower” marks an important step forward and will be operational at June’s 90th anniversary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours. It will provide a solution to a problem often associated with 24-hour racing by allowing spectators to follow changes in the leaderboard more easily. In the course of the Le Mans 24 Hours’ long history, a number of systems have been employed. The inaugural race in May 1923, for example, saw the ACO use a huge board which was lit up at night by acetylene gas lights. In 1925, sponsors took advantage of this opportunity to display their brand names alongside the race positions. In the 1930s, and up to the outbreak of World War 2, the ACO made use of this highly visible tool – which was especially effective when lit up at night – to keep the public up to speed with its latest news.
The leaderboard returned at the end of the 1940s, but was now located behind the pits. Then, in the 1950s, it was lifted to a higher position when it was fixed to a tubular frame structure built in the garden of the former ‘Welcome’ building. From the mid-sixties and through to the early 1990s, several innovative solutions were tried, including a three-sided board which displayed the race order day and night thanks to thousands - of light bulbs. Some will also remember the airship-mounted leaderboard which floated in the sky above the circuit!
When new pits were built in 1991, a number of trackside giant screens appeared, and these were used to provide regular classification updates. The “MICHELIN Ranking Tower” stands out as an exciting, graceful and modern solution which continues the tradition of screens and leaderboards that have been an integral part of Le Mans history for 90 years.
Olivier VIALLE, MICHELIN Competition’s Marketing Director: “The erection of the “MICHELIN Ranking Tower” at Le Mans has given us a chance to provide a permanent landmark for one of endurance racing’s most emblematic locations where our tyres have won every edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours since 1998. It is also our way of celebrating the legendary race’s 90th anniversary. Last but not least, this new icon in MICHELIN’s colours symbolises the aim we share with the ACO to promote a form of motorsport that genuinely serves to enhance mobility.”
