Phoenix Supports Sports Car for a Cause

Shiny, fast automobiles may be an expensive hobby but indulging in them gains more meaning with events such as the 3rd Sports Car for a Cause street car show, sponsored by Phoenix Petroleum and FamilyMart.

This year’s event was held on February 9 along 4th Avenue in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, where proceeds benefited the Sister of Mary Schools and Fr. Al’s Children Foundation Inc., institutions that aim to help Filipino youth attain a better future through proper learning and education.

Students from the Sister of Mary Schools expressed their gratitude and serenaded the audience with choir singing accompanied by instrumental bells. Special guest entertainer Sitti also lent the event a relaxed, cool vibe with her bossa nova numbers.

Nearly a hundred car enthusiasts, including special guests comprised of ambassadors and consuls of various countries, were delighted by an impressive collection of high-end sports and classic cars from iconic luxury brands such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, and Porsche.

Phoenix PULSE fuel items and merchandise were raffled off, and motorists were introduced to the superior line of Phoenix lubricants suitable for super cars, such as the those featured at the show. Free FamilyMart Coffee Creations samples were also handed out to attendees, providing their caffeine fix.

Porsche, Audi and Toyota stage exciting show in Texas heat

Despite the day’s stifling heat, the 2016 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas lived up to its promise to provide spectators with a thrilling show. The race kicked off at 5pm local time with the air and ground temperatures standing at 35°C and 45°C respectively. The first four hours were dominated by Audi Sport, while the final third provided an exciting battle between all three LM P1-H teams.

Porsche Team went on to take the victory, assisted by the strategy of the N°1 919 Hybrid (Bernhard/Hartley/Webber) which took advantage of a Full Course Yellow interruption to ease into the lead. Audi Sport came second with the N°8 R18 of Di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis (who very nearly retired), and Toyota Gazoo Racing came third with the N°6 TS050 Hybrid (Sarrazin/Conway/Kobayashi). The latter was helped by its drivers’ ability to double-stint their MICHELIN ‘SOFT Hot Weather’ tyres during the evening, whereas their rivals ran the ‘Hot Weather Plus’ compound early on.

After dominating Friday’s qualifying, the two Audi R18sgot away to a strong start and, after a short scrap with Porsche, managed to pull out a gap during the opening hour, leaving Porsche and Toyota to battle in their wake. The two German teams opted for the MICHELIN ‘SOFT Hot Weather Plus’ compound, while Toyota preferred the MICHELIN ‘SOFT Hot Weather’ option.By the start of the second hour, the order seemed to be well established, with the Audi R18s lapping two seconds apart, the two Porsches more than half-a-minute back and the Toyotas gradually losing ground.

This situation lasted around an hour until Toyota Gazoo Racingchose to stay on the same tyres after its third refuelling stop which took place during a Full Course Yellow interruption. The time saved allowed it to re-join in a stronger position. By this time, however, Audi Sport had established a handsome lead which it defended until the 100-lap mark…

That is when the AudiR18came to an unexpected halt and, although Loïc Duval eventually managed to get it going again, the time lost put it out of contention. This misadventure allowed the N°7 sister car to take over at the top and continue to defend Audi Sport’s chances.

This incident was followed moments later by the LMP1 cars’ fifth refuelling halt. The N°1 Porsche was the last in the order to pit when a Full Course Yellow period to clear up crash debris was declared. This allowed the N°1 919 to emerge in first place after a tyre change and driver swap.

Benoît Tréluyer (N°7 Audi) did his best to recover the lead but, on Lap 133, he was hit by an LM GTE car during a passing manoeuvre. The resulting damage necessitated a seven-minute pit stop for repairs.

Now under no pressure, the leading Porsche focused on consolidating its lead over the second-placed Toyota which was enjoying the benefit of its tyres’ consistency at this point. The last two hours provided Audi with a chance to bridge the gap however and, ultimately, steal second place from the N°6 Toyota during the last round of pit stops.

“That was such an exciting race,” enthused Jérôme Mondain, manager of Michelin’s endurance racing programmes. “Despite the very high track temperatures, our tyres proved competitive and consistent once again, allowing both those cars which double stinted and those which changed tyres at each stop to post some outstanding lap times all the way to the flag.”

The next round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship will take place in what is likely to be cooler weather at Japan’s Fuji Speedway on October 16.

Michelin’s tyres for the 2016 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas

LM P1 (31/71-18)

Dry conditions:

-       SOFT Hot Weather Plus

-       SOFT Hot Weather

Damp/drying conditions:

-        MICHELIN Hybrid

The slick MICHELIN Hybrid tyre was first used instead of the traditional intermediate in 2012. Its revolutionary compound allows it to be used in damp and/or drying conditions despite not having a tread pattern.

Rain:

-       WET

-       Full WET

The difference between Wet and Full Wet tyres concerns the properties of their respective compounds. They feature the same tread pattern.

Number of tyres authorised for the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas: 6 sets for the race

LM P2  (front: 30/65-18 / rear: 31/71-18)

Dry weather:

-       MEDIUM

-       MEDIUM Plus

Wet conditions:

-       WET

-       Full WET

Number of tyres authorised for the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas: 4 sets for the race

LM GTE Pro and Am (front: 30/68-18 / rear: 31/71-18)

Dry weather:

-       MEDIUM

-       MEDIUM Cold Weather

-       MEDIUM Hot Weather

Wet conditions:

-       WET

-       Full WET

Number of tyres authorised for the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas: 6 sets for the race

6 HOURS OF NÜRBURGRING (WEC): VICTORY FOR THE N°1 PORSCHE/MICHELIN

THE REIGNING WORLD CHAMPIONS MARK WEBBER, TIMO BERNHARD AND BRENDON HARTLEY CLAIMED THEIR FIRST SUCCESS OF THE 2016 CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE NÜRBURGRING, GERMANY, TODAY IN THE N°1 PORSCHE 919 HYBRID/MICHELIN. THE TRIO WAS JOINED ON THE PODIUM BY THE CREWS OF THE TWO AUDI R18/MICHELINS WHO STARTED THE SIX-HOUR RACE FROM THE FRONT ROW. THERE WAS A FERRARI/MICHELIN ONE-TWO IN LM GTE PRO AND A PODIUM FINISH FOR THE N°31 LIGIER-NISSAN IN LM P2 TO CELEBRATE MICHELIN’S RETURN TO THE CLASS.

As in 2015, Webber/Bernhard/Hartley secured their first win of the year at the Nürburgring where the defending world champions benefitted from a collision followed by a drive-through penalty for the N°2 sister car during the latter part of the race.

The two Michelin-equipped Audi R18s had monopolised the front row of the grid after dominating qualifying and led for the first two hours before losing ground. The German team fought back however to collect second and third places overall with its N°8 and N°7 prototypes after some thrilling dicing with the N°2 Porsche.

There was an equally exciting fight in LM GTE Pro between Ford, Aston Martin and Ferrari. The N°66 Ford, N°95 Aston Martin and N°51 Ferrari were covered by just 1.5 seconds at the halfway point but Ferrari/Michelin had the last word with a one-two result for N°51 and N°71 cars of Bruni/Calado and Rigon/Bird respectively.

In LM GTE Am, the N°98 Aston Martin took over at the top ahead of the N°50 Corvette/Michelin after the two-hour mark and went on to take the class’s spoils, ahead of the N°78 Porsche/Michelin (KCMG) and the N°83 Ferrari/Michelin (AF Corse). The pole-winning N°88 Porsche/Michelin was involved in the above-mentioned collision with the N°2 Porsche.

The LM P2 victory went to the N°36 Alpine-Nissan which was followed over the line by the N°43 Ligier-Nissan/ Michelin celebrated its return to the class with the American team Extreme Speed Motorsports which came third with its N°31 Ligier JS P2-Nissan (Dalziel/Derani/Cumming).


*This is Press Release

2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Champion

After what he described as the worst possible start to the season, Nick Foster never gave up and last weekend claimed the ultimate reward.

Failing to score even a single point in the first four races of the season, the challenge ahead of Nick was huge. The speed was always there, and thanks in part to the knowledge that his tyres would not let him down, Foster was able to push hard in every race.

“To win the Championship is by far the best moment of my career so far – it hardly seems real at the moment! Even though the start of the year was tough, I never gave up because I knew we had the package to get the job done,” said Foster.

“Having the confidence to push hard each and every lap was really important, especially this season. With Michelin tyres we know this is possible. There have been times this season when we have taken the tyres off at the end of the round, and there is still plenty of life left. We can’t ask for more than that!”

For Michelin, the Porsche Carrera Cup is an exceptional challenge, with the race track acting as the ultimate proving ground.

The long lasting, high performance of the Michelin N2 tyre that the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia uses has been on display all year. The performance has resulted in quick lap times, and even new lap records, being set right up until the closing stages of the final race of the weekend.

“We have seen some of the best racing in Australia in Carrera Cup this year with the drivers able to push their tyres for the whole weekend – this is why we go racing,” said Michelin Australia Marketing Manager, Tim Hoare.

“Globally, the Porsche motorsport platform allows us to innovate and deliver performance – that is why we partner with them. Our engineers work with the Porsche engineers to deliver exactly what the Porsche drivers demand: speed, safety, longevity, and driving pleasure, without compromise.”

For Michelin, this partnership extends off the track and well.

“Michelin works with Porsche's design teams from the bottom up, engineering tyres that react perfectly with the chassis, not just with their race cars but also with their road cars,” explained Mr Hoare. 

For more information about Michelin please visit www.michelin.com.ph

The philosophy of “MICHELIN Total Performance” is at the heart of Michelin's research and development strategy globally and is applied to the development of all Michelin tyres. It reconciles qualities that some believe to be conflicting by virtue of technology such as grip and long lasting tyres.

*This is a Press Release

Porsche chooses MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 for its 911 GT3 RS launch

Porsche AG will equip all of its cars with the newest MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 ultra-high-performance tyres, the company announced at the launch of its latest model, the new 911 GT3 RS. The just released model from Porsche’s 911 series now sport tyres in the 265/35 ZR20 front and 325/30 ZR21 rear sizes.

Blurring the line between motorsport and road tyres, the MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 is the latest generation of road-legal track tyres specially designed for ultra-high performance cars that are used on road and track. The trust that Porsche has in the performance of this tyre is clearly demonstrated by the fact that it is also the OE fitment on other recent models including the 918 Spyder, Cayman GT4 and 911 GT3.


The co-development of these tyres began with the ones that are fitted to the 918 Spyder and these were then developed and fine-tuned to suit the characteristics demanded by Porsche engineers for the track-focussed GT3 RS.

Using tyre sizes that are larger than those fitted to the GT3 means that the size of the contact patch of the tyres is increased by 20% at the front and 18% at the rear. Overall this has the effect of increasing outright grip levels and contributes to the car’s more track-focused dynamic handling characteristics.

Due to an innovative range of motorsport-derived technologies such as Bi-Compound technology, which involves the use of different rubber compounds on the inner and outer sections of the tread and Track Variable Contact Patch 3.0, which optimises pressure in the tyre's contact patch so the same amount of rubber is always in contact with the road or track, whether driving in a straight line or cornering, the MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 offers drivers a unique balance between safety and driving enjoyment that makes it suitable for everyday road use as well as in very demanding conditions on the racetrack. To achieve this, Michelin engineers focused on simultaneously improving performance in different areas in-line with the Group’s Total Performance strategy.

As a result of this strategy, compared to its predecessor the Pilot Sport Cup+, the Pilot Sport Cup 2 lasts up to 50 per cent longer on track while offering faster lap times*, improves resistance to aquaplaning in wet weather and maintains high levels of driver safety and enjoyment.


To ensure the GT3 RS is prepared for difficult winter driving conditions, Michelin is the sole supplier of the Porsche-approved winter tyre fitment for the car:
245/35R20 91V XLTL Pilot Alpin 4 N0
315/35R20 110V XLTL Pilot Alpin 4 N0