It takes a big commitment to be successful at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), site of this weekend’s stop on the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Michelin commitments are expected to help both the teams and drivers, as well as race fans.

The top factory teams and drivers from BMW, Chevrolet Corvette, Ford and Porsche arrive at the rolling, ultra-fast 2.459 mile, 10 turn CTMP circuit, knowing that full measures of skill and confidence are required at an old style circuit that rewards the best and can punish the unwary.

“You can’t be tentative and win at CTMP,” said Ken Payne, technical director motorsport, Michelin North America, of the former site of the Canadian Grand Prix Formula 1 event.

“It is easy to say that a driver is running flat out, but lap times and the data will reveal if a driver is all in. For a driver to be fully committed they must have confidence that the car will stay under them every time they fling it into a corner,” said Payne.

“CTMP is a driver’s track demanding respect and offering challenges on every lap. When a car can be driven with the total confidence and commitment that a good set-up and consistent tire performance provide, drivers find a fast stint at tracks like CTMP to be extremely rewarding,” said Payne.

“Our goal is to work closely with our Michelin technical partner teams and drivers to help provide tires and support that earn their confidence and enable that level of commitment.”

Michelin Commitments

Competition
The Michelin commitments at CTMP come in many forms.

On the competition front, Michelin provides its factory backed technical partner GT Le Mans (GTLM) class teams from BMW Team RLL, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, Corvette Racing and Porsche GT Team with specially developed Cool, Medium and Hot temperature range Michelin racing slicks and well-proven fully treaded wet tires.

Each team is supported by an embedded Michelin tire engineer, who works on a confidential basis to help optimize the team’s Michelin tire selection, preparation and performance.

Fans
Michelin has enjoyed a long partnership with CTMP and will set up a temporary display to show its latest Performance tires for consumers and answer tire related inquires and offer informational materials. In addition, Michelin will have hot laps on the Driver Development Track with Corvettes on their Michelin® Pilot® family tires and BMW M2 and M3s fitted with the new Michelin® Pilot® Sport 4 S.

The Michelin Man, one of the world’s most recognized corporate icons, will join in the WeatherTech Championship driver autograph session and pre-grid activities and join drivers from the top three GTLM class finishers on the post-race podium.

The Michelin Bridge on the front straightway is one of the signature elements at the track and serves as both the physical and symbolic connection from the technology of the WeatherTech paddock to the fan areas, hospitality and car corrals.

Virtual
The Michelin motorsports creative team will help to extend the excitement of the race far beyond the circuit. Comprised of a videographer, photographer, writer/editor and social media team, Michelin will create and post material to www.michelinracingusa.com including streaming video of the pre-race grid, post-race podium ceremonies and driver press conferences.