Michelin is back on home soil for the ninth race of this year’s shortened MotoGP World Championship as the paddock heads to Le Mans for the SHARK Helmets Grand Prix de France.
Le Mans is an extremely significant race for Michelin with its history at the circuit on both two- and four-wheels. The iconic track is one of the most recognised and historic circuits in the world and one at which Michelin holds all the records in MotoGP. The 4,185m layout with its five left and nine right turns is a configuration that is very tight, with a number of lower gear corners. As such, this demands a stable front tyre and the Power Slick range will have a compound that will meet those requirements under heavy braking, whilst the new for 2020 rear construction will provide the drive under acceleration required to set fast lap-times.
Following it’s resuracing in 2016, the Le Mans asphalt is rated by Michelin as medium-severity and the range of Power Slick tyres have been chosen to give all manufacturers and riders the optimum choice for the 27 lap race. Front and rears will be offered soft, medium and hard compounds, with the rear versions featuring an asymmetric finish with a harder right-hand-side, designed to contend with the extra corners that go in that direction, with all the fronts being symmetric.
Michelin and the MotoGP field traditionally visits Le Mans in May, but due to the calendar change because of COVID-19, the paddock will head there in October this season, meaning wet weather is more likely than normal. With this prospect a range of Power Rain tyres will be available in soft and medium compounds for the front and rear, and just like the slick tyres, the rear wets will have an asymmetric finish with a harder right side, with the fronts being symmetric.
Michelin’s second season as the official tyre of the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup is also set to come to an exciting culmination this weekend with the title set to be decided during the two races at Le Mans.
In 2020 teams have been using Michelin’s Slick MotoE tyres with a redesigned rear option, and the whole range now featuring biomaterials and regenerated materials – and during this year’s exciting races, records have been broken with the new tyres and riders have improved their riding styles and performance because of the extra grip afforded from the new race rubber.
The two races will see Michelin’s new, more efficient and environmentally friendly slicks available in a medium compound at the front and soft at the rear, both of which are symmetrical. If wet weather arrives at Le Mans then the Power Rain is also available in a soft front and extra soft rear, both of which are also symmetrical in design.
Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager commented:
“Le Mans is usually one of our busiest races as a company as we have many people from Clermont-Ferrand and the other Michelin factories visit us during the weekend, but that will not happen this year due to the protocols, but we will still have a very busy time with three races in two days. Le Mans is a circuit that needs special attention as there are lots of slower corners and hard braking, so the front tyre has a lot of work to do, so we chose the compounds carefully to suit that, plus this season we will be going at a completely different time to usual, it could be very cold in the morning, but with the compounds we have selected for the weekend we have taken that into consideration.
“MotoE will come to a close during the weekend, with two races and the winner decided. It has been a really positive season for us, we have had some great racing so far and the new tyres we introduced for this year have performed really well. The information we gather from them will help translate what we take from the track to the street, as we look at more environmentally friendly options as Michelin moves forward.”
