The exciting start to the race itself saw Toyota Racing emerge in front early on, but the N°2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro eventually took control after a duel that lastedhalf-an-hour. When a short shower of rain fell, however, the N°7 Toyota TS 040 Hybridwas quick to switch to rain tyres, while the Audi stayed out on slicks and was ultimately dislodged from the top of the leaderboard. Meanwhile, the N°8 Toyotahad changed to the MICHELIN Hybrid tyre which helped it to move up to second place as the N°14 Porsche spent 16 minutes in its pits for repairs.

After 1h15m of racing, the N°7 and N°8 Toyota TS 040 Hybrids topped the order, with the N°20 Porschenow on the provisional podium.

As the conditions dried, though, the MICHELIN Hybridbecame the most judicious choice and the N°8 Toyota was ableto overtake the N°7sister car which was still on ‘wets’.

After that, the order didn’t change until the finish whichwas came ahead of the scheduledduration because of torrential rain.

The MICHELIN Hybridtyre decisive, but all the solutions used

The superior performance of the MICHELIN Hybridwas showcased while the conditions were damp. There was a time difference of more than five seconds per lap between the two Toyotas (one on ‘Hybrid’ tyres and the other on wets)and the gap was as much as 20 seconds per lap compared with the N°2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro which was on slick tyres.

Indeed, all the different types of tyre available for Silverstonewere employed at one point during the race. “Today’s conditionssaw our full range of tyres come out at one time or another, from our ‘low temperature’ slick to our rain tyre, via the ‘hybrid’ slick,” observes Jérôme MONDAIN, manager of MICHELIN’s endurance racing programmes.“We are extremelypleased with the performance they delivered,and that confirms the validity of the selectionwe will have available for Le Mans, in June. We are especially happy with the MICHELIN Hybrid. Although it looks like a slick, it proved competitive and very versatilein the damp, which speaks a great deal for the values championedby our MICHELIN Total Performance*concept.”

In LM P2, SMP Racing’s two ORECA 03-Nissans–whichare new to the class –were also on Michelin tyres and qualified in third and fourth places in their category. Unfortunately, they both suffered technical problems duringthe race’s first hour. One of the two cars failed to finish, but the other was able to continue after a 30-minute pit-stop for repairs.”

Meanwhile, the adverse weather conditions allowed Michelin to validate its recent development work on specific new rain tyres for the LMGTE Procars. “They performedstrongly even outside their ideal operating window, when the track was drying,” notes Jérôme MONDAIN.

The second round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championshipwill visit Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium’s Ardennes Mountains on May 3. It will be the teams’ final dress rehearsal ahead of this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours on June 14-15.

From Michelin press release

PHOTO: TOWCESTER (NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, UK), SILVERSTONE CIRCUIT, 6 HOURS OF SILVERSTONE, SUNDAY 20 APRIL 2014, RACE.