How Michelin Used Le Mans Races to Refine Its Tire Designs for a Century

Michelin has used racing as a proving ground for its tires since the 1890s. It’s known for being undefeated in Le Mans since 1998 (the tire maker claimed its 35th overall Le Mans victory and 28th consecutive win in June 2026, making it the winningest tire manufacturer in the race’s history), and won bicycle races before its first Le Mans victory in 1923. Michelin equipped the world’s first removable tire on Charles Terront’s bicycle in 1891 and won the Paris-Brest-Paris race eight hours ahead of the second-place finisher. Talk about domination…

Source: Jalopnik