Eco-Friendly

Michelin 1-2-3 at World Solar Challenge

Michelin runners have dominated the top places in the World Solar Challenge 2011 with the top three vehicles to complete the trip from 3,000 km journey from Darwin to Adelaide all using MICHELIN solar tyres.

Michelin is proud to support the 2011 World Solar Challenge. For Michelin the event is about more than just being a sponsor; it is about fostering and supporting the innovation and development of more sustainable forms of transport that comes from the event.

Battling the extremes of Australian weather from bushfires, to high winds, to torrential rain the teams needed a tyre that could perform well in all conditions, whilst ensuring the team’s safety at all time. By filling the top three places on the podium, the MICHELIN tyre has shone through yet again.

The MICHELIN Solar tyre is specially designed for this race and is the lowest rolling resistance tyre ever made (1.5 kg/t). This rolling resistance is five times less than an MICHELIN ENERGY Saver that you can fit to your road car. By fitting a low rolling resistant tyre to their vehicles, the teams reduce the energy the tyres require to move the car.

Crossing the finish line first was Japanese team Tokai University who finished the race at 1:07pm Darwin time. They took 32 hours and 45 minutes to drive their car, Tokai Challenger2, 3021 kilometres on solar power averaging a speed of 91.54 kilometres per hour.

In one of the competitions closest finishes the Dutch team, Nuon Solar Car Team arrived at the final check point in Angle Vale, South Australia at 2:12pm Darwin time. Third across the line was the University of Michigan.

In a new initiative for this year’s World Solar Challenge, people in Adelaide were given the opportunity to test drive a selection of low emission vehicles (LEV) in real-life situations.

The Adelaide GreenZone Drive gave drivers the chance to see first-hand how well suited these vehicles are to inner city driving. Vehicles included LEVs from Audi, BMW, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault and Toyota.

With the average the rolling resistance of a cars tyres accounting for roughly 20 per cent of all energy used, tyres can account for up to one in every five tanks of fuel.

Michelin has a long history of engineering fuel and emissions saving technology into its tyres with MICHELIN GREEN X marked tyres designed to save CO2 emissions and reduce fuel costs.

In 1992 Michelin launched its first generation green tyre, significantly lowering rolling resistance of a conventional tyre, and earlier this year they introduced their newest green tyre – MICHELIN ENERGY XM2.

Today, Michelin displays a ‘GREEN X’ label on the sidewalls of all its energy efficient tyres. This label is your guarantee that the tyre meets the high rolling resistance standards set by Michelin, making it among the best in the market. You can be assured that the tyre can reduce your CO2 emissions, while not sacrificing performance, safety and longevity.

Michelin estimates that since 1992, MICHELIN GREEN X marked tyres have saved more than 35,000,000,000kg of CO2, and more than 14,000,000,000 litres of fuel.

Tags: Michelin Energy Saver, MICHELIN ENERGY XM2, MICHELIN GREEN X marked tyres, MICHELIN Solar tyre, rolling resistance, World Solar Challenge