The 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship races into life at Imola in Italy this weekend (17-19 April), as Michelin introduces its latest-generation Pilot Sport Endurance tyres.
More than 160 days have passed between the 2025 FIA WEC season finale in Bahrain last November and the forthcoming 6 Hours of Imola, which will raise the curtain on the series’ 14th campaign.
The Pilot Sport Endurance range was merely a demonstrator concept as little as five years ago, but is now the standard fitment for motor racing’s fastest prototypes. The new slicks contain 50 per cent renewable or recycled raw materials – including citrus peel, bio-sourced rice-husk and recycled steel – and took two years to develop.
Mathematical modelling and advanced simulation technology played a significant part in the design of these highly innovative new tyres, the warm-up performance and longevity of which are perfectly comparable with, if not superior to those of their predecessors.
The range will be used by all 17 Hypercars, fielded by leading automotive marques Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, defending world champion Ferrari, motorsport newcomer Genesis, Peugeot and multiple title-winner Toyota, with its heavily-updated TR010 Hybrid. The tyres have already appeared competitively at the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring, with Imola marking their FIA WEC debut.
“Every one of Michelin’s partner teams played a part in the development process and was able to try the different compound options during their respective test schedules,” notes Pierre Alves, manager of Michelin Motorsport’s endurance racing programmes.
“The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is a low-energy track as far as tyres are concerned, despite the high loads generated under repeated acceleration. There’s only one racing line and the drivers don’t hesitate to ride the kerbs, so overtaking won’t be easy. That promises to place the emphasis on strategy, which means the ability of our tyres to multi-stint will be key to gaining valuable time during pit-stops.
“On top of that, the weather can be quite changeable in this part of Italy at this time of year, which might add another variable to the teams’ game plans.”
Free practice begins today (Friday, 17 April), followed by qualifying – and the all-important Hyperpole top ten shootout – from 14:30 CEST tomorrow (Saturday, 18 April), with the six-hour race getting underway at 13:00 CEST on Sunday, 19 April.
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