Goodyear secures tyre supplier deal for WEC LMGT3 class

The American-headquartered company has won the FIA tender to provide rubber for the category that replaces GTE in 2024.

The three-year deal announced on Thursday, after a virtual vote by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council, follows on from Goodyear becoming the exclusive supplier in the LMP2 class of both the WEC and the sister European Le Mans Series from 2021, in what was described at the time as a multi-year deal.

Goodyear also became the sole provider in the GTE class of the ELMS ahead of the 2021 season.

Both GTE Am and GTE Pro, which was axed at the end of last year as a lead-in to the new LMGT3 rules, has allowed open competition between tyre manufacturers, although Michelin has had a monopoly in the WEC since the start of the 2018/19 superseason.

The Aston Martin Racing factory squad ran tyres provided by Goodyear sister company Dunlop in 2017, the first season of its second-generation Vantage GTE, along with two teams running in GTE Am.

Richard Mille, FIA Endurance Commission president, said: “Tyres are one of the key areas that will evolve over the next couple of years.

“We have already moved away from tyre heating and we will be gradually reducing the number of available tyre compounds, therefore having an experienced partner that already knows both the WEC as well as GT3 racing is an asset.

“The fact that LMGT3 cars will run on commercially-available, off-the-shelf tyres is also a positive development that will bring down the costs for competitors.”

#54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVO: Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci, Davide Rigon

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Pierre Fillon, president of WEC promoter the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, added: “We are delighted to have a highly reputable tyre manufacturer on board as the LMGT3 class prepares to hit the track next year.

“The teams will benefit from Goodyear’s expertise in supplying quality tyres at a competitive cost.”

Plans to replace the GTE rulebook with something based on the FIA’s successful GT3 category were revealed at the Le Mans 24 Hours WEC round in August 2021.

The idea of the cars running what were described as “premium kits” of bodywork was subsequently announced at Le Mans last June.

Changes to the bodywork from the homologated car for the WEC and its associate series have subsequently become optional rather than mandatory.