Tyre warmers to return for 24 Hours of Le Mans under one-race exemption
The FIA and the ACO have conducted an in-depth evaluation of tyre usage data together with the FIA World Endurance Championship’s exclusive tyre suppliers, Michelin and Goodyear, and decided to authorise tyre warming for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The exemption is limited to the 24 Hours of Le Mans only, ensuring that drivers of all experience levels will be able to compete in the safest possible environment regardless of track conditions and temperatures, while tyre manufacturers, teams and drivers will gain valuable time to develop better understanding of how to bring cold tyres up to temperature ahead of the remainder of the 2023 FIA WEC season.
The return of tyre warmers will apply to all three FIA WEC classes for the purpose of consistency and equity. Furthermore, tyre heating ovens will be powered by 100% sustainable fuel from FIA WEC’s exclusive supplier TotalEnergies.
Moving away from tyre warming was originally introduced as part of a long-term WEC tyre road map, developed in consultation with tyre manufacturers, and has been in the works over the last two years.