Michelin and MotoGP™ are gearing up for the start of the 2020 World Championship as the season finally gets underway in Spain this coming weekend after a significant delay caused by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
The start of Grand Prix racing has been on hold since March due to the deadly virus, but now Michelin and the rest of the MotoGP paddock will be able to get back to competitive action as the season kicks-off with a double header at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto in Spain. Fans around the world will be treated to the Gran Premio Red Bull de España this coming weekend, and this will be followed a week later with the first running of the Gran Premio Red Bull de Andalucía at the same track.
The new Power Slick rear tyre for MotoGP
The first race of 2020 will enable see Michelin debut the latest evolution of the Power Slick rear tyre in a racing environment following its introduction into the allocation at the start of the year. The new rear slick features a different construction that is designed to give increased grip, performance and an extended durability to all riders and manufacturers. Following a thorough test programme in 2019 and early in 2020 – including a unique session during the Australian Grand Prix last year to evaluate the tyre on one of the calendar’s most demanding circuit – all the data was analysed by Michelin’s technicians at Clermont-Ferrand. Paired alongside feedback from the riders, this new construction was added to the allocation for the 2020 season and would have been available at Qatar.
The Jerez circuit will be a unique test for the new construction as temperatures at the Spanish track will be considerably higher than the originally scheduled date in May. However, Michelin Technicians have worked hard to analyse past data from the track, and with the aid of computer simulations they have been able to select the best compounds to match the new construction and give optimum performance around the 4,423m circuit, which has had both full and partial resurfacing work in recent seasons.
Both weekends in this unique double header will see Michelin offer the same compounds; three front and three rear Power Slick tyres. The range will be available in soft, medium and hard compounds, and all the front will have a symmetric design, with the rear featuring an asymmetric design with a harder compound on the right shoulder to better cope with the eight right turns which place extra demands to the tyre. With warm weather and high temperatures expected, there might be little chance of rain, but Michelin’s Power Rain tyres will be in the allocation just in case. Again, the rear tyres will be of asymmetric design.
Michelin and the rest of the paddock will have to adhere to stringent protocols to make sure the racing goes ahead as safely as possible in the midst of the pandemic, with all the new rules and regulations in-place MotoGP will take on a very different look and feel for 2020, one of which will be the initial lack of spectators at trackside. This might change as the season progresses, but even with the new guidelines, Michelin will be determined to add to the spectacle and give tyres that provide exciting and close racing.
On Wednesday 15th July the riders will have a test to reacquaint themselves with the tyres and bikes after such a long lay-off. Competitive action will then commence on Friday with two Free Practice sessions; this will be followed by two further sessions on the Saturday ahead of the all-important Qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday’s first Grand Prix of the season will get underway at 14.00hrs local time (13.00hrs BST).
More efficient and environmentally friendly Michelin MotoE™ tyres for 2020
During these back-to-back weekends in Jerez, Michelin will also be involved in the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup where the French manufacturer is getting set to launch a brand new range of tyres specially designed for the 100% electric Energica Ego Corsa race bikes.
Michelin’s Motorsport engineers have extensively redesigned the structure of the rear tyresince 2019, with the entire range now benefitting from the introduction of bio-materials and regenerated materials. The use of sustainable resources in the structure and in the rubber compounds has made it possible to push back even further the balances established with the previous range. Michelin’s new tyres for MotoE are therefore both more efficient and more environmentally friendly.
Two practice sessions on Friday and one on Saturday will kick off the new season, before the E-Pole on Saturday afternoon. The new Slick MotoE tyres will be available in medium at the front and soft at the rear, and in contrast to the MotoGP tyres, both front and rear will be symmetrical. In the event of rain, riders will be able to count on the grip of Power Rain soft tyres at the front and extra soft at the rear.
Ahead of the first race of the season, Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager said:
“It is an encouraging step-forward that the season can get underway. We had a good start to the year with the tests and finalising the new rear tyre, but then everything was put on hold by the terrible events that unfolded. We now have the chance to go racing and give some much needed relief to the fans after these difficult times.
“With the new calendar some of the races now have different dates than their original ones, and the most noticeable of those is the first one at Jerez. We expect much higher temperatures than we would have had in May, but we have analysed past data and run computer simulations to understand what will be expected and have matched the compounds accordingly.
“The most important thing for us is the debut of the new rear tyre. The construction was verified at the pre-season tests and added to the range for 2020, so this will be the first time we have raced with it. When we returned to MotoGP in 2016 we made sure that we would keep evolving and are determined to push the envelope of performance even further this year. The new rear slick tyre has been designed to work for all riders and machines, and following the last tests in Qatar – where we saw some fast lap-times – we are confident that all manufacturers will have found the best setting to make their respective bikes work to the optimum and give a first-class show for all, with hopefully some new records for Michelin at both the events at Jerez.
“The programme in Jerez is a busy one, as we also have MotoE during the two weekends. This series got off to a good start in 2019 and I’m sure it will continue to progress this season with the contribution of Michelin’s new range of even better tyres. MotoE is a very important competition for our group, which this year is introducing tyres incorporating biomaterials and regenerated materials into the discipline. We are delighted to be the technological partner of a race-series focused on energy efficiency, sustainable mobility and respect for the environment. The 2019 World Cup was marked by some fine sporting battles, which gives us even more motivation at the start of this second season.”
