In honor of the 78th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2010, the michelinracingusa.com staff offers 24 bits of Le Mans history, factoids and trivia. See www.michelinracingusa.com for updates, features and the complete list, plus Rick Dole photos.

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A stack of MICHELIN® tires in the compound. Photo credit: Rick Dole for Michelin North America

Note 10 of 24: Quads and doubles the goal

According to Nick Shorrock, Director of Competition for Michelin worldwide, Michelin’s 2010 Le Mans goal is to quadruple-stint tires for Prototypes and to double-stint tires for GT cars.

A “stint” is one full fuel load, or approximately 55 to 65 minutes. Under Le Mans rules, tire changes cannot be made while the car is being refueled.

Since teams are allowed only one air gun at Le Mans, tire changes take 25-30 seconds. As a result, Michelin teams often skip tire changes, electing to run the same set of race tires for two stints (double) in the GT classes and up to four stints (a quadruple stint) in Prototypes.