Michelin claims first TUDOR GTLM tire championship

A GTLM class victory by the #93 Dodge Viper gave Michelin its first tire TUDOR tire championship.

AUSTIN, Texas (September 20, 2014) – The first season of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship has its first champion – Michelin.

Michelin has clinched the TUDOR Championship GTLM Tire Championship with a perfect ten class victories in the first ten races in the only TUDOR Championship class permitting open tire competition.

Taking the GTLM class victory in the two hour-45 minute Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of The Americas was the #93 Dodge Viper SRT driven by Jonathan Bomarito and Kuno Wittmer who scored their second victory of the season to lead a Viper 1-2 finish and a sweep of the top seven positions by Michelin technical partner teams.

Finishing second was the Dodge Viper driven by Marc Goossens and Dominik Farnbacher, followed by Porsche North America’s Patrick Long and Michael Christiansen.

The TUDOR Championship titles for manufacturers, teams and drivers are still closely contested heading into the season ending 10 Hours of Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on October 4th.

“We are very pleased to celebrate the GTLM tire championship and race victory here today," said Chris Baker, motorsports director, Michelin North America.

“We want to thank our manufacturer partners, teams, drivers and engineers for entrusting Michelin with great responsibility and the opportunity to develop new technologies in competition," said Baker. “Their continuous collaborations and support and that of our own engineers, tire developers and support team are all important pieces of the championship puzzle."

Michelin technical partner teams; BMW Team RLL, Corvette Racing, Dodge Viper SRT, Porsche North America and Risi Competizione Ferrari all contributed to the championship and have combined for 10 GTLM class wins, 10 poles, 10 fastest race laps and 29 of a possible 30 podium finishes.

Each Michelin technical partner team has scored at least one class pole, set a fastest race lap and earned three or more podium finishes.

Today’s race will be re-broadcast tomorrow, Sunday, September 21 on the FOX network.

ABOUT MICHELIN

Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. The company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) employs more than 22,200 and operates 19 major manufacturing plants in 16 locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

EMC Strategic Communications