Michelin sees ‘track to street' dividends in IMSA engagement

BRASELTON, Ga. — As the 2019 IMSA championship season draws to a close, Michelin North America Inc. (MNA) is reflecting on what it considers a successful first season as the series' exclusive tire supplier and sponsor.

"Our objective at the start of the year was very simple," Chris Baker, director of motorsport, MNA, said. "We wanted to get better operationally at every race, so that by the end of the 2019 season, the consensus of the paddock community and the fans would be that IMSA had made a good decision in choosing Michelin as the official tire partner."

• This article appears in the Oct. 14 print edition of Tire Business.

IMSA selected Michelin in mid-2018 to succeed Continental Tire the Americas as the exclusive race tire partner for its various racing series. Continental had served in that capacity for nine seasons, 2010-18.

For Michelin, this season was all about the numbers — 100-plus cars entered in three championships, 220-plus drivers, 19 eligible automotive nameplates and 35,000-plus tires used throughout the season, all built at a dedicated race tire factory in Clermont-Ferrand, France, and shipped to MNA's motorsports division in Greenville, S.C.

It's the number 19, though, that carries extra weight for MNA and the executives who green-lighted the company's decision to bid for the IMSA contract.

That's the number of car brands that were seen in competition throughout the year, nearly all of which have models spec'd OE with Michelin tires.

Alphabetically, the car marques represented this year were: Acura; Alfa Romeo; Aston Martin; Audi; BMW; Cadillac; Chevrolet; Ferrari; Ford; Honda; Hyundai; Lamborghini; Lexus; Mazda; McLaren; Mercedes; Nissan; Porsche; and Volkswagen.

Each brand represents a different touchpoint for Michelin, David VanEmburg, North American Commercial Director told Tire Business earlier this year during the IMSA race weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

"We have a simple mission in OE," he said: "Drive innovation to market. We like to say, 'We don't sell tires. We sell technology.'"

At the same time, he said, OE is not an independent business. It's part of Michelin, "but we are 'seeding' future replacement business."

Regarding racing and OE, Mr. VanEmburg referenced the evergreen "track to street" adage. It may seem trite to some, he said, but if one looks closely at the relationship, it does pay dividends.

He pointed to the decision General Motors made to spec Michelin tires for the 2009 Corvette after 50 years of exclusivity on Goodyear. That decision was affected directly by Michelin's efforts at the race track, he noted.

Most of the marques competing in IMSA organize car owners' events at the various race tracks, providing Michelin — and potentially its dealers near the tracks — the opportunity to interact with these key customers, he added.

The 2019 IMSA season had one race to go — the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta — at the time this story was written, bringing to a close the sanctioning body's 50th season of racing activity in North America.

Rather than a series finale, though, Mr. Baker said Michelin views the Petit Le Mans as another early step in its multi-year partnership with IMSA.

The Petit Le Mans event also was an opportunity for Michelin to showcase the 52,000-sq.-ft., four-story Michelin Tower at the track in northern Georgia, which houses race officials, media, broadcasters and hospitality.

The new tower is tied to the multi-year naming rights deal Michelin secured for the track in late 2018. Michelin's affiliation with Road Atlanta dates back to the early days of the race track, which opened in 1970.

Michelin uses the track — which is just 100 miles southwest of its headquarters in Greenville — for testing and the new agreement allows the company to conduct driving events for customers and consumers there as well.