Goodyear making strong push for WEC Hypercar tire deal

Goodyear is entering what could prove to be the most important stretch for its current sports car racing program. Fresh from securing contract extensions to remain the exclusive tire supplier for LMGT3 and LMP2 in the European Le Mans Series, as well as retaining the FIA World Endurance Championship's LMGT3 deal through 2029, the American manufacturer is now waiting on the biggest decision of all.

The FIA and ACO are expected to announce the result of the Hypercar tire tender for 2030-32 in the coming days after a delay communicated back at Le Mans in June. If successful, Goodyear would replace Michelin, which has supplied the premier class since Hypercar debuted in 2022.

For Xavier Fraipont, Goodyear's vice president of global racing, the bid is about returning the company to the top tier of endurance racing while it’s at a peak in relevance and popularity among the general public.

"The company has been at that level before. That's the ambition for us now," Fraipont told RACER. "We've proven through the years in endurance racing that we are capable, what we can bring and what the difference is.

"There has been an open process with the FIA, which capable tire manufacturers could be part of. And there was the possibility of testing."

That testing formed a significant part of Goodyear's bid. In April, several Hypercar manufacturers took part in evaluation sessions at Paul Ricard using development tires, including reigning Hypercar manufacturers’ world champion Ferrari, 2026 Le Mans winner Toyota and Porsche, with a 963 operated by Proton Competition, notably carrying Goodyear branding.

"The best way to prove ourselves is to build on our experience, stretch ourselves, make tires and test," Fraipont said. "We learned a lot from that session.

"For us, it was good that testing was available. We played by the rules and it was a good step for us to understand part of the tender process, where we were and frame an adequate offer from Goodyear.

"There is still plenty of time for us to improve on what we planned, and deliver the next level for the category if we are selected, beyond what was part of the tender, like we did with LMGT3."

Confidentiality agreements prevent Goodyear from discussing feedback from the manufacturers involved in the tests, but Fraipont is confident the company can meet – and potentially exceed – the tender's targets.

The specifications call for tires costing around €900 ($1,037) each, delivering performance comparable to Michelin's current Hypercar tires, while incorporating at least 70 percent sustainable materials, an increase on the current figure of 50 percent.

"There was a target for sustainability, like LMGT3. We are aiming for at least the target, or more," Fraipont said. "It's two levels, which are close to what we are demonstrating and have available now. We want to use it as a test bed. It's for 2030 to go for additional percentage points. The pillars are driving confidence, warm-up, stint consistency and sustainability.

"We've built on our experience to develop our tires for Hypercar. LMP2 was a strong base, but also all the work that has been done on LMGT3 for the removal of tire warmers was a good learning process and technology."

Goodyear's FIA WEC supply has been a key component of its development push for sustainable tire tech. Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images

While the Hypercar tender is currently commanding the spotlight, it represents just one part of Goodyear's broader endurance racing roadmap. The company is finalizing a new-generation LMGT3 tire for introduction in 2027 that will feature 66 percent recycled and bio-based materials, while development work has also begun on the next LMP2 tire ahead of the category's new regulations in 2028.

Fraipont said sustainability remains central to every stage of the company's development process, with the long-term objective of producing a fully sustainable racing tire.

"When you're in single-make competition, you want all the attributes," he said. "On our current journey, we managed to produce 66 percent for LMGT3 for the next tires, and we are looking next at 80 percent. It's going to be a similar route.

"We've qualified our raw materials, they have been tested internally, next we'll be testing on track. We'll see whether or not we'll accelerate to 80 percent during the three-year LMGT3 contract, or leave it to later.

"We want to make it clear that 66 is not the end. We're looking long term, and we know it's going to be harder and harder to find the alternatives for the last 15, 20 percent. For the last 15 percent, you need to find chemical alternatives that are available in quantities that meet the grades we need for racing. That will be tough, but we are committed.

"We're also looking at how we manufacture tires in motorsport and across Europe, using green electricity. We're looking at investing further into the curing process for our tires, to move to a full green generation of heat. It's raw materials, the way they're manufactured, the number of specs and then end of life. We're thinking about it all.

"We're pushing on sustainability technology and using it as an accelerator to bring it to the general public."

For now, though, Goodyear's immediate future in top-level endurance racing rests with the outcome of the Hypercar tender. Once that is announced, it will have a clearer picture of how much market share it can realistically retain into the next decade.

"We like racing, we like the challenge," Fraipont said. "But the decisions on how many classes we can supply will not be in our hands. We would be happy to take a lot."

Goodyear's main rival in the tender process, Michelin, has also been busy behind the scenes. The French brand, which has put in its bid to remain the sole supplier of tires to Hypercar going forward, is also in the midst of preparing for its future in IMSA's GTP class. It has already sewn up the contract to supply the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship through the 2035 season, so regardless of the outcome of the WEC's tender, it will remain the current era's dominant player in North America into the next decade.

"We will introduce a new range of tires in 2029," Pierre Alves, Michelin's endurance racing program manager, tells RACER. "The target, as we know, is to reach 70 percent of sustainable materials. We are working with our sister companies to extract the maximum materials that can come from used tires. Today we extract carbon black, metals, and some resin, but in the future we want to maximize the 200 components that are in the tires.

"For us, the way we are designing our range is to cover all tracks in both WEC and IMSA anyway. We are already working on it, because whether the WEC decision is positive or negative, we will still supply IMSA. We are planning for 2029, and if Michelin wins the Hypercar tender, we will use that tire from 2029 to 2032."