Nihon Michelin Tyre, the Japanese division of the mighty French rubber giant, has announced that it will no longer supply tyres for the Autobacs SUPER GT Series’ premier GT500 class after the 2023 season.
The decision will end an 11-year partnership between Michelin and Nissan to supply tyres to the flagship NISMO factory team, as well as the NDDP Racing team which is also operated by NISMO.
“This announcement was made as the Michelin Group reconsiders its race support structure,” the company stated in a press release earlier today.
“We will strive to live up to the expectations of our fans and strive to win the series championship for our team until the last lap of the final race.”
Michelin first competed in GT500 during the 1999 All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) season, in a five-year partnership with Toyota Team TOM’s which saw Michelin win in just its third race.
Future collaborations saw Michelin supply tyres to Hasemi Motor Sport, SARD Racing, and Dome/Honda Racing. NISMO first worked with Michelin in 2010 but reverted back to Bridgestone tyres at the end of the season.
However, it was a partnership between Michelin and GT500 newcomer MOLA which set the company towards success. With Michelin rubber, MOLA and drivers Masataka Yanagida and Ronnie Quintarelli won consecutive GT500 titles in 2011 and 2012. NISMO would choose Michelin as its tyre supplier once more from 2013. Quintarelli and Tsugio Matsuda would win the 2014 and 2015 GT500 Championships with NISMO.
Driving on Michelin tyres, Matsuda has become the winningest GT500 class driver of all time, with 24 career wins. Yanagida became the first and only driver to win multiple titles in both GT500 and GT300 classes. And Quintarelli has become the only four-time GT500 Champion in history, with 18 career wins – third all-time and most of all foreign-born drivers.
In the first round of the 2023 season, Michelin and Nissan scored 1-2 finishes with the #23 Motul Autech Z of Matsuda and Quintarelli winning the Okayama GT 300km Race followed by the #3 Niterra Motul Z of Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi.
Michelin’s departure will leave Bridgestone, Yokohama, and Dunlop (Sumitomo) as the three tyre manufacturers left to supply tyres to GT500 teams. Bridgestone already supplies ten of the 15 current GT500 teams.
UPDATE – Michelin has clarified that it will continue to supply tyres to GT300 customer teams such as BMW Team Studie x CRS, who is the sole Michelin client in the category.
BMW Team Studie owner Yasuaki Suzuki confirmed through his personal blog that they plan to use Michelins after the 2023 season.
Feature image © Michelin; additional images © GTA
