Michelin Is Official “Tire Supplier” To Gran Turismo

Renowned tyre brand, Michelin, is the official “tire supplier” of the FIA-certified Gran Turismo Championship. And if that sounds familiar, yet not, that is because it is part of the PlayStation Gran Turismo driving simulator franchise. Michelin has been selected by PlayStation with a multi-year agreement to be the “official tire technology partner” for Gran Turismo, which happens to be one of the best and most authentic driving games around.

This allows Michelin tyres to be featured in Gran Turismo during its third World Tour live event which is in progress at the PlayStation Theater on Broadway, New York City, this weekend.

The relationship begins by increasing Michelin’s visibility through free downloadable content on Gran Turismo Sport, available to users by October 2019. The Michelin-themed free download will feature for the first time:

• A new Michelin section on the Gran Turismo Sport “Brand Central” virtual museum, which introduces players to Michelin’s deep history in global motorsports, performance and innovation.
• Tire technology by Michelin available in the “Tuning” section of Gran Turismo Sport, applicable to the game’s established hard, medium and soft formats.
• On-track branding elements and scenography from many of the world’s most celebrated motorsports competitions and venues.

The tyre brand’s story began in 1895 when the Michelin brothers entered a purpose-built car in the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris motor race to prove the performance of air-filled tyres (the first rubber tyres were solid pieces of rubber). Since that storied race, Michelin has achieved a record of innovation and ultra-high performance in the most demanding and celebrated racing competitions around the world, including 22 consecutive overall wins at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans and more than 330 FIA World Rally Championship victories.

Michelin continues to use motorsports such as the FIA World Endurance Championship, FIA World Rally Championship, FIA Formula E and International Motor Sports Association series in the U.S., as a laboratory to collect vast amounts of real-world data that power its industry-leading models and simulators for tyre development. Tyre technologies proven on the track eventually transfer to road-going performance vehicles like many of those on screen in Gran Turismo.

With this PlayStation venture, Michelin will share this knowledge openly with Sony in the first co-development exchange of its kind, aiming to provide Gran Turismo players with a new dimension of strategy and competition linked to tire selection and performance, drawing ever closer to the pit-level decisions that race teams evaluate on every track.

“This relationship is a perfect match, connecting the most successful virtual driving experience with the global leader for high-performance tyres,” said Scott Clark, executive vice president of the Americas region for Michelin Group, responsible for the Company’s global automotive, motorsports and experiences business segments.

“Michelin leads the industry in tyre simulation,” Clark said. “Michelin develops and tunes virtual tyres on virtual vehicles before the tyres are even produced, with extremely accurate translation to real tyres on real vehicles. Combining this technology with real motorsports data will enable Sony to bring more tyre strategy into the game, and in the longer term, also helps more people understand the critical role that Michelin tyres play in optimizing vehicle performance.”

“The FIA Certified Gran Turismo Championships is founded on a technical base established through 25 years of automotive physics simulation within Gran Turismo, and the unique automotive culture it has achieved over the years. With its passion for motorsports and solid engineering knowledge, having Michelin, the world’s leading tyre brand, come on board as an official tyre supplier of The Championships and technical partner helps us continue our vision of bridging the gap between virtual and real racing. The partnership also further highlights these events as the future of motorsports,” said Kazunori Yamauchi, series Producer and President of Polyphony Digital Inc.

Further information and images can be found at: https://www.michelin.com.my/auto/michelin-gran-turismo and https://michelinmedia.com/gran-turismo/.