The 2020 8 Hours of Bahrain in November brought the age of hybrid LMP1 prototypes to a close. Introduced in 2012, these technologically-sophisticated machines notched up 61 world-class endurance racing wins, all on Michelin Pilot Sport tyres which delivered on their Performance-Made-to-Last promise. From 2021, the hybrid generation will make way for a new breed of Hypercars.
Sébastien Ogier won the 2020 Rally Monza to notch up his 47th world-class victory and the seventh FIA World Rally Championship crown of his career on Michelin tyres. The Italian event was the final outing of the French firm’s current spell in the FIA WRC which has seen it harvest no fewer than 347 victories, 1,037 podium placings and 58 Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ world titles since the competition’s creation in 1973, aided by a long list of technological innovations and close working relationships with its driver and carmaker partners.
The final clash of the 2020 MotoGPTM World Championship at Portimão was won in assertive fashion by local star Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3). The Grande Prémio MEO de Portugal’s pole-sitter comfortably outdistanced Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) who made it three different bikemakers and two different MICHELIN Power Slick pairings on the podium.
The Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana – Round 14 of the 2020 MotoGPTM World Championship – as won by Franco Morbidelli. The Yamaha Petronas SRT rider was joined on the Valencia podium by Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Racing Factory), while seventh place sufficed for Joan Mir (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) to make certain of this season’s Riders’ crown. The MICHELIN Power Slick provided further evidence of its versatility with the top four finishers in Spain running two different tyre combinations.
MOTOGP™ - Torres takes advantage of the superior performance of the current, more environmentally-respectful MICHELIN Power Slick MotoE range to claim the 2020 FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup
Four fastest times for Jari-Matti Latvala today were insufficient to worry team-mate Sébastien Ogier (VW/Michelin) who is still around half-a-minute clear in front. The Frenchman is looking good to secure the title on Sunday afternoon…
Sébastien Ogier (VW/Michelin) wrapped up the first leg in Spain with an advantage of more than 30 seconds over his biggest threats whose ranks are led by fellow title chaser Jari-Matti Latvala (2nd, +36s6). The Finn, Ostberg, Mikkelsen and Hirvonen are covered by less than five seconds.
The Michelin-equipped Sébastien Loeb Racing Oreca03-Nissan shared by Vincent Capillaire and Jimmy Eriksson triumphed in the 2014 European Le Mans Series finale at Estoril in Portugal, while Signatech-Alpine successfully retained its LMP2 class European crown.
FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP (WEC)Frustration in TexasThe Michelin-equipped Porsche 919 Hybrids narrowly missed out on the podium at the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, while the similarly Michelin-tyred Porsche 911 RSRs took the chequered flag second and fourth in the LMGTE Pro class.
Who will succeed from Signatech-Alpine, Ram Racing, SMP Racing and Team Endurance Challenge as this year’s European Le Mans Series champions? The 2014 finale takes place this weekend at Estoril, Portugal, where a field of 37 cars is expected.
Two weeks after clinching the Motocross of Nations prize in Latvia, Team France topped last weekend’s SuperMoto of Nations in Italy ahead of the host country (winner of last year’s competition) and Germany.
In the 6 Hours of Fuji, Toyota Racing clinched its third FIA WEC victory of the 2014 campaign with the Michelin-shod N°8 TS040 Hybrid driven by Anthony Davidson and Sébastien Buemi. Indeed, it was a one-two finish for the marque, with the N°7 car of Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima coming second. The N°20 Porsche 919 Hybrid (Timo Bernhard/Brendon Hartley/Mark Webber) was third. Ferrari locked out the top two places in LMGTE Pro, with Aston Martin doing likewise in LM GTE Am, whilst G-Drive Racing prevailed in LMP2.
Last year in Morocco Marc Coma (KTM Michelin) lost his World title during this last round of the World Cross Countries Rally Championship, as Paolo Gonçalves beats him and clinched the title. The Spaniard got his Revenge this year, winning the rally and the World title.
Back-to-back wins at Le Mans and Austin have taken Audi to the top of the provisional FIA World Endurance Championship standings ahead of the journey to Mount Fuji in Japan. A field of 27 cars is expected for the 6 Hours of Fuji.
After claiming 11 wins on snow and gravel, Finn Jari-Matti Latvala has at last notched up his first world class victory on asphalt. The Rallye de France-Alsace saw his team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen provide Volkswagen/Michelin with another one-two finish and Kris Meeke (Citroën) took part in the podium celebrations for the fourth time this year.
Is Jari-Matti Latvala on the verge of claiming the first asphalt WRC victory of his career? With one day remaining, the Finn is 28 seconds clear at the top in Alsace. Second place is in the hands of his VW/Michelin team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen who is joined on the podium by Kris Meeke (+53.7s). Sordo (4th, Hyundai) and Kubica (5th, Ford) are split by nine-tenths of a second.
Sébastien Ogier probably won’t be crowned world champion this weekend, but his VW/Michelin team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala appears to be heading for the first asphalt victory of his career. Andreas Mikkelsen and Kris Meeke join the Finn on tonight’s podium.