MICHELIN MOTORSPORT RESULTS – 2021
MotoGPTM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) became the first Frenchman to claim the MotoGPTM world title. In doing so, he earned Michelin’s 32nd crown in motorcycle racing’s premier class and emerged as the 16th different rider to secure the title on the French firm’s tires.
Eight different riders and four different bikemakers took wins in the course of the season, while 15 different riders took part in podium celebrations.
Michelin has notched up 465 MotoGPTM race wins (up to end-2021).
LE MANS 24 HOURS
Toyota Gazoo Racing harvested a fourth straight win at Le Mans, its first with its new Hypercar prototype equipped with latest-generation MICHELIN Pilot Sport tires. Michelin has gone unbeaten in the Le Mans 24 Hours since 1998. The top prize in 2021 was won by the N°7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID of Conway/Kobayashi/Lopez, ahead of the N°8 sister car of Buemi Nakajima/Hartley and the N°36 Alpine/Michelin of Negrao/Lapierre/Vaxivière.
Michelin extended its unbroken winning run in the world-famous endurance classic to 24 wins by claiming the first race of the new Hypercar era which sparked the development of a new generation of MICHELIN Pilot Sports.
FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP (FIA WEC)
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose-Maria Lopez scored three wins – including Le Mans – on their way to clinching the 2021 Drivers’ world title.
The Manufacturers’ championship was won by Toyota which secured its fourth title in a row, all in association with Michelin which provided brand new MICHELIN Pilot Sport tires designed specifically for the new Hypercar prototypes like the Toyota GR010 Hybrid and developed almost entirely virtually. The GT Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles were picked up by Ferrari and Alessandro Pier-Guidi/James Calado who took the Italian make’s tally to five FIA WEC crowns with Michelin
NÜRBURGRING 24 HOURS
The 49th edition of the Nürburgring 24 Hours – which was shortened by 14 hours due to fog – was won by Manthey Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R in the hands of Estre/Cairoli/Kern/Christensen. The quartet earned Michelin’s 21st victory since 1992 in this notoriously grueling race. It was Porsche and Michelin’s seventh win together in Germany’s Eiffel Mountains.
FIA FORMULA E WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
As a founding partner of Formula E, Michelin is proud and honored to have contributed to the titles of Nyck de Vries and Mercedes-EQ FE Team at the end of the all-electric competition’s first season as an officially-sanctioned FIA world championship.
Once again, the MICHELIN Pilot Sport EV faced a unique spectrum of challenges, from sand-coated asphalt in Saudi Arabia, rain in Rome and the series’ first visit to the full Monaco grand prix circuit, to a proper banked turn in Puebla, Mexico, and Berlin’s notoriously abrasive concrete track. MICHELIN’s Formula E tire took all this in its stride to provide further evidence of its competitive potential and longevity which contributed to 15 closely-fought e-prix won by 11 different drivers
IMSA
As partner and exclusive supplier to North America’s IMSA SportsCar WeatherTech Championship, Michelin worked with Cadillac, Chevrolet and Porsche in their bids to secure the 2021 titles.
The DPi crowns went to Cadillac (Manufacturers), Whelen Engineering Racing (Teams) and Ricky Taylor/Filipe Albuquerque (Drivers).
The top prizes in GTLM were bagged by Chevrolet-Corvette and Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor (N°3 Corvette C8.R/Michelin).
In GTD, Porsche, Pfaff Motorsports and Laurens Vanthoor/Zacharie Robichon all topped their respective points tables.
FIM ENEL MotoE™ WORLD CUP
For the second year running, the FIM Enel MotoETM World Cup was won by Jordi Torres (HP Pons 40).
The season saw Michelin introduce more competitive; more eco-responsible tires, with 40 and 33 percent of the materials used to make the rear and front respectively coming from sustainable sources. The all-electric series serves as a valuable laboratory to evaluate new innovations. Indeed, with regard to the sustainable content of the tires it features, it is a step ahead of the objective set by the French company which is for all the tires it manufactures to contain 40 percent of sustainable materials by 2030.
FIM TRIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Toni Bou (Montesa/Michelin) claimed both the Trial GP (outdoor) and X-Trial (indoor) titles for the 15th straight year. The Spaniard is the most successful rider in competitive motorcycling history with a score of 30 world crowns to his name, all on Michelin rubber.
FIM HARD ENDURO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Billy Bolt (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) made history by winning the inaugural FIM Hard Enduro World Championship which features a calendar made up of extreme, world-renowned events.
Michelin runners dominated the sport and monopolized the top five places at the season’s conclusion
FIM CROSS-COUNTRY RALLIES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2018 Dakar victor Matthias Walkner (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) pocketed his second FIM Cross-Country Rallies world title thanks to a string of outstanding results in 2021. The Austrian finished clear of fellow Michelin riders Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) and Dani Sanders (GasGas).