Michelin’s Pilot Sport EV tire made its debut in season one of the FIA Formula E championship over the course of 2014 and 2015, before being retained through the 2015/6 season. The 11 city center circuits constructed specifically for the championship saw Michelin supply an 18″ diameter tire. Designed to closer resemble road going tires, the Pilot Sport EV featured a durable compound that had to last an entire race weekend, and a treaded compound that saw it used universally used across wet and dry conditions. The regulations’ only concession is the allowance of one spare per car, and even this tyre is carried over from the previous race. Not only does this considerably reduce the championship’s environmental impact but it is also in-line with the important sustainable mobility message championed by both Michelin and Formula E.
The FIA’s decision to use the same tire for season two, to let the teams to develop their new cars to meet the new, less restrictive technical regulations in regard to motors, transmissions and rear suspension pick-up points, with a known tire, has also allowed Michelin two years of development time. Michelin states that it tasked engineers developing the Michelin Pilot Sport EV to further lower the rolling resistance of the tire, while maintaining the same levels of longevity and grip performance.
“Our work focused on improving energy efficiency, even though the original Michelin Pilot Sport EV excelled in this domain,” said Serge Grisin, manager of Michelin’s Formula E programme. “Thanks to the use of new technologies, we have succeeded in reducing rolling resistance while at the same time lowering the weight of each Michelin Pilot Sport EV. The combination of these gains will mean greater autonomy for the cars and, no doubt, enhanced performance for the third Formula E championship. As required by the FIA regulations, we provided all the constructors registered for Season 3 with the latest Michelin Pilot Sport EV at the beginning of May. As a function of their respective test schedules, they will therefore able to familiarise themselves with it as they develop their cars for 2016/2017.”
