Tyres, Super Cars and Estoril Race Circuit, Portugal

Monday, 25 July 2011 11:30

This trip, as you can imagine, got me excited for weeks before I went! The thought of driving BMW’s, Audis and Porsches round a race circuit in sunny Europe got my heart beating a little faster than normal.

I have grown a stronger affinity with Porsche since I started racing one and feel a greater understanding of their capabilities.

The day began with an early start to Heathrow airport, at this stage I was clueless as to who would be on the trip with me and what they would be like. There were no signs in the Airport Lounge who may be involved with the trip – it’s not really the “done thing” to ask every stranger you meet “Are you going to the Michelin Pilot Sport Tyre Launch in Portugal?”!

The whole flight was taken up with chatting to two young lads next to me almost in ore of what I did which was rather flattering; they were so amazed by me being a Motoring Journalist, a race car driver and a business woman buying and selling cars. I did think that they would do well in life as they seemed intelligent and hungry for success. Later in the trip I found out that this conversation was very loud and several of my fellow attendees had overheard and smiled to themselves.

In Portugal we were greeted with a Michelin lady, no not a lady version of the famous Michelin Man – a lady who represented Michelin and was about to take us on a tour of the town! The tour was interesting but I will save those details as I am sure you are itching to hear about the roar of the beautiful Ferrari 458 Italia ripping up the pit straight at Estoril. We did get to try the local custard tart delicacy made from a secret recipe at the best cake house in town though!

The juicy part of this story is the race track itself. Whilst we were greeted with welcome chats we were teased with hearing numerous V8’s and V10’s and a collective horse power strong enough to move a house off its foundations (20,000 horse power to be precise), growling outside tantalisingly out of sight. Fellow petrol heads looked at each other with menacing grins like a bunch of page 3 girls had just stumbled upon a whole cupboard of fake tan. We were so eager to get behind the wheels of these beasts! Calmly though it is important to remember we were there for Michelin to launch their new track and road Pilot Sport Tyres. We needed to understand what was on our feet (alloys) before we stepped on the track.

What was on our feet? There were 4 different tyres to test. Michelin Slicks (you will find out later just how amazing these are!), Michelin Pilot Sport Cup+, Michelin Pilot Super Sport and Michelin Pilot Sport 3. Before we drove some rather fantastic super cars round this sunny European race track we got to ‘floor’ (floor it!) some M3’s in a straight line up to 90kph, then slam on the brakes when we got to the sprinklers (wet surface). This was a good dynamic warm up and although we let the ABS do the work, the idea was to compare tyres and their stopping distances. The results showed that Michelin’s stopping distances were shorter than the comparative tyres used in the test. Distances ranged from 25.8 metres down to 23.3 metres. So Michelin has scored a point for safety so far.

I know you must be wondering what cars made up the collective 20,000 horse power. Well, there were M3’s, Porsche 911’s – a few varieties of these including GTS, GT3 RS and Carrera’s, Audi R8’s and a sprinkling of super and hyper cars that would make any petrol head weak at the knees. Michelin presented us with a Gumpert Apollo Sport which incidentally smashed the lap record at the Nurburgring in 2009 on Michelin tyres at 7minutes and 11 seconds. The only complaint they received was that the tyres lasted so well. This is a shock revelation to most seasoned track users. Traditionally we have had to sacrifice longevity for grip – a softer compound would result in more grip but with the tyres not lasting so well. Michelin have managed to completely turn this on its head and produce tyres that grip and last. They have their “laboratory” for testing their technologies – to everyone else this is called Motorsport. It is fascinating to hear of their passion for excellence in performance and they have the coolest “laboratory” for testing their innovations that one could dream of. With endurance races such as the famous 24 hours Le Mans race, in which Michelin are unbeatable since 2004 with 12 world champions, it is plain to see why longevity may be a crucial specification requirement; this is the second point Michelin has scored, technically a third point for performance as well, Michelin are collecting bonus points fast!

Whilst we are discussing performance we learned on this trip that in Motorsport Michelin have had 102 victories in F1 with 10 world champions and in WRC 224 victories with 12 world champions.

At the end of our educational workshop on the different types of tyres to be tested I was introduced to my instructor or “buddy” for the day – his name was Jerome a French racing driver. He has a reputation for picking fast cars and favours Porsches – it’s easy to see how we would get on! He showed me to the track and I was in the driving seat of an Audi R8 GT with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Tyres and 560bhp before you could say ‘Rumpelstiltskin’. I thought it would take me longer to notice the difference between the tyres than it actually did. I was learning the lines of the track, appreciating the noise of the engines roaring in harmony with each other, testing the tyres and remembering how each car changed gear. This last point may sound a bit daft but I can assure you when a Ginetta is tapped up on a tiptronic to change down and one of the Porsches I drove is the complete opposite – tap up is change up – it can be easy to get it wrong! Changing gear in the wrong direction on a race track is not the ideal situation to be in!

The Porsche 911 Carrera 2S on slicks was unbelievable to drive and it almost did not matter which line you took, the car held! It was like rubbing the tyres of a Scalextric car with double sided tape and watching it zoom round and round whilst your competitors, without said double sided tape application, fall off at every bend. My family were not competitive at all!

What was noticeable was the steady increase in performance across the range. All the tyres are aimed at enthusiasts or even ‘enthusiastic drivers’; owners of vehicles ranging from the reasonably quick Golf GTI market and the very quick 400bhp Porsche 911 GTS market right up to competitive Motorsport 911 Cup Cars requiring full racing slicks.

The Pilot Sport Cup+ is the reference track tyre for Porsche and BMW M. It is road legal but a more cost conscientious clued up individual would run the Pilot Super Sport on the road and have an additional set of the Cup+ for track use. The former contains bi-compound technology across the tyre tread, which combined with different tread patterns results in a tyre that improves vehicle handling both in the wet and the dry. The Cup+ strangely has less tread at brand new by about 50% however this is so the tread cannot move around and lean so much, therefore there is better grip – it is a tyre for a higher performance situation despite being road legal.

Michelin really showed off their tyres’ capabilities by spoiling us with thrilling passenger rides in Porsche 911 Cup Cars driven by racers currently competing in them, as well as a ride in a Gumpert Apollo Sport which you can see a video of me climbing in and out of (not an easy task) – wow what a machine! I also had a drifting ride with Daniel Golebiewski in a Mercedes SLS AMG, I renamed him ‘Mr Sideways’.

The last car I have saved until last and this is the one that made me smile the most. The Porsche Cup Cars made me giggle – I am very much a fan of being thrown around a race track. This last car however did everything for me. It looks out-of-this-world-stunningly-beautiful, every inch of it is put together with such flare and style; it is a work of art. The sound of the engine is refined music containing melodies fit for petrol head royalty. The car I am talking about is a Ferrari 458 Italia. I almost felt like I was having a love affair with it, the way it made me feel as Jerome hurled it up the pit straight at over 200kph and threw it round the corners with the decisive manner of a 1990 R32 Skyline driver would be doing round every bend of Weston-Super-Mare. You really could feel at one with this car and I loved it so much!

Tyres are one of the most important factors to consider when driving a car fast. You could have the quickest car in the world with the best brakes and the best suspension set up, but if you get the tyres wrong there is no come back. I learned that tyres can make a difference in lap times which ultimately makes a difference in winning or losing. This research and technology has raced from track to street to make our performance driving on the road safer and more rewarding. Michelin, thank you for a fabulous trip and for putting such an awesome group of us together to learn about your new tyres and experience the Michelin way – bravo! By Rebecca Jackson RJ Internet Showroom