Michelin introduces new Hypercar/GTP rain tire

Michelin is debuting a brand-new rain tire for the FIA WEC Hypercar field at this weekend’s 6 Hours of Barcelona.

The new compound, which has been available for teams to use in private testing since August, contains 57 percent renewable/recycled materials and completes the rollout of the French manufacturer’s new-for-2026 range of WEC Hypercar and IMSA GTP tires.

Michelin says the new wet tire offers better performance than the previous specification in rainy conditions, while being more resistant to blistering on a drying track.

“It’s not a dramatic change, because based on the rules we need only one wet tire spec. We chose to develop a tire that will have a good transition from wet and drying, but will lack the performance of a full wet,” Pierre Alves, Michelin Motorsport’s endurance racing program manager, told RACER.

“We don’t have separate tires for drying tracks and for full wet and we feel it made sense to go down the route we have, because it will help to ensure we see racing when the conditions are mixed. If you go on a cold, slick tire on a damp track, it’s very dangerous. That’s why we made the decision.”

Michelin validated the new wet both internally and with the current crop of Hypercar manufacturers during private track testing in Europe last year. Its development followed a different timeline from that of the three slick compounds – soft, medium and hard – introduced at the start of this season.

“We did two wet tests for it with the Hypercars at Paul Ricard, where we made the track wet artificially, and we did a lot of internal tests to measure the hydro performance,” Alves explained. “It’s easier for our resources to not develop and introduce the full range at the same time, because the same developers work on slicks and wet tires.”

The debut of Michelin’s new rain tire appears to come at an opportune time, with the current forecast for Friday and Sunday’s FIA WEC track action suggesting that both qualifying and the race will take place in wet conditions.

In North America, the new wet tire will make its debut at the IMSA Daytona Sanctioned Test in December and will be available from the start of the 2027 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season at the same venue in January.