With apologies to Detroit’s Uniroyal colossus, the Le Mans Dunlop Bridge is the world’s most recognizable structure designed to look like a tire. It’s been a part of the Circuit de la Sarthe in form of another since the first running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But now it’s getting a rebrand. Say goodbye to Dunlop and hello to Goodyear.
Together with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the organizer of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the tire company announced this week that it would take over branding of the bridge as part of a host of updates to la Sarthe coming in 2026. A new bridge will be “built on the structure of the current Dunlop Bridge,” according to an ACO press release. The Goodyear Racing Club and Goodyear Grandstand will be renovated as well.
To honor the legacy of the Dunlop Bridge, Goodyear and the ACO will donate a collection of related memorabilia to the 24 Hours of Le Mans Museum. But the bridge’s legacy will likely also live on in people mistakenly calling the new bridge “Dunlop” instead of “Goodyear.” Old habits die hard.
The big change follows the January 2025 sale of the Dunlop tire brand in Europe, North America, and Oceania by Goodyear to Sumitomo Rubber Industries. As Racer notes, Goodyear has been ramping up its involvement in endurance racing, so it makes sense that the company would want to hang on to the tire bridge.
Dunlop tires in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) LMP2 class were rebranded as Goodyear for the 2019-2020 season. Goodyear became the sole supplier of tires for both the WEC and European Le Mans Series the following year, and for the LMGT3 class in both series from the start of that class in 2024. Michelin supplies tires for the top Hypercar class.
The bridge has moved a few times over the years, but currently sits at the top of the Dunlop chicane, near pit exit. Shots of cars going under the bridge are a fixture of magazine articles and television coverage, and the bridge is an easy reference point for spectators trying to find their way around the track. That won’t change regardless of which tire company’s name is on it.