The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the most prestigious race in the international long-distance calendar. At the heart of the action: the tire experts from Goodyear, who exclusively supply the 27 LMP2 vehicles. Goodyear develops and manufactures the Eagle F1 SuperSport racing tires for the Le Mans prototypes in the LMP2 category. In 2022, the historic event will be held for the 90th time. This weekend's race is the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
In addition to the 15 WEC cars, Goodyear will also tire 2 other LMPXNUMX cars from around the world. The exclusive contract with Goodyear for the LMP2 category means working closely with teams on set-up and strategy throughout the season, including the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In the past season, the LMP2 winner from Team WRT completed a total of 363 laps on the 13,6 kilometer circuit, which corresponds to more than 16 Formula 1 Grand Prix distances. The stints usually last eleven laps each, and some teams do four stints on the same set of tires, which is around 600 kilometres. Last year, the furthest distance covered on a set of Goodyear tires was 650 miles - that's more than two Formula 1 Grand Prix race distances, which normally require around six sets of tires.
"Goodyear always loves coming to Le Mans," said Goodyear Motorsport Director Ben Crawley. “It is the highlight of the international endurance racing calendar and therefore important for the Goodyear brand. While the race lasts 24 hours, the Le Mans challenge takes all year to prepare, but it's the one our team looks forward to the most. the incredible atmosphere and the specific type of racing that makes Le Mans so special.”
WRT leads the LMP2 standings ahead of Le Mans
After two rounds of the current WEC season, Team WRT with its drivers René Rast, Robin Frijns and Sean Gelael is leading the table. The trio is now traveling to Le Mans after winning the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in May. United Autosports, the winner of the first round of the championship in Sebring is only six points behind in the standings.
2022: Regulations stipulate a reduction to a single type of rain tire
Since this season, the LMP2 teams of the WEC have had to make do with only one type of wet tire and one type of dry tire due to the regulations. It is supplied by Goodyear, who are still the exclusive partners of the LMP2 and are happy to take on this special challenge. This means that the previous intermediate tires are history. After the first appearances in the previous WEC season, it is now the first time that Goodyear uses this two-tire strategy at Le Mans.
“We've worked hard to develop a rain tire with a much larger working envelope,” explains Mike McGregor, Goodyear's Endurance Program Manager. “We are pleased with the performance of this tire and are confident that with our help, drivers will overcome the challenge of running a single compound of wet tyres. With the introduction of a standard tire a few years ago, our engineers have developed tires that are suitable both for the extreme heat in Bahrain and for stints on the cool nights at Le Mans. Also from the point of view of Sustainability we expect fewer tires to be used over the course of the race.”
Virtual: Exhibition of the esports series open to fans
This year Le Mans Virtual will be present at the Le Mans Fan Village, giving fans a taste of the challenges and pressures of the real race taking place just a few hundred meters away. Goodyear is the official tire partner of the esport championship, which concluded in January with the Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans and which saw some of the fastest SimRacing pilot of the world attended. As a tire supplier for both the real race and the virtual version, Goodyear's innovation will be brought to new audiences around the world.
The Goodyear schedule for Le Mans
While the preparations for Le Mans take a year, Goodyear engineers arrive at the circuit around two weeks before the start of the race (Saturday, June 11, 16:00 p.m. CEST). The training and that qualifying take place on Wednesday and Thursday. Goodyear engineers continue to support the teams after the start of the race and work with them in the pits to advise on strategy and ensure the timely delivery of tires for the slick pit stops – 24 hours a day, day and night.