John Deere and Michelin demonstrate how technology and following good practices can generate operational gains during road use: MICHELIN MachXBib tires allow fuel savings of up to 1050 euros per year per tractor.

Sébastien MAHAUT (France), 36, was awarded the title of Best European Tractor Driver of the Year 2015 during an event organised by the leading manufacturer of agricultural equipment John Deere, with the support of Michelin, at the Clermont manufacturer's Technical Innovation Centre in Ladoux (63, Puy-de-Dôme).

This farmer (with 190ha mixed farming and stockbreeding) and Farm Labour Contractor based in Pauvres (08, Ardennes) competed against five other participants from the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and Germany.

Sébastien MAHAUT demonstrated his expertise in the technologies available to him for handling his convoy, at the wheel of which he had to travel a complex route in a given time and consuming the least amount of fuel possible. Like all of his competitors that day, before starting out Sébastien MAHAUT indeed had to select the right pressure for the tires and to optimally distribute the load on the John Deere 6215R AutoPowr tractor equipped with MICHELIN MachXBib 710/70 R42 & 600/70 R38 tires, pulling a Joskin twin-axle trailer loaded with 20 tonnes and equipped with MICHELIN CargoXBib High Flotation 600/50 R26.5 tires.

John Deere and Michelin experts designed an 11 km circuit for this challenge, including 70% on asphalt with a manoeuvrability test and 30% in field.

This circuit reflects reality: that of Farm Labour Contractors, also known as Agricultural Contractors, who work the fields subcontracted by other farmers and thus have to cover large distances on the road between two plots. Their use on the road generally represents between 70 and 90% of their travelled distance.

The winner of the challenge had to achieve the best performance index considering, in addition to the travel time and fuel consumption, the least soil compaction in the field. A manoeuvrability test (slalom) highlighted the safety and precision of MICHELIN tires.

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