After a three week hiatus, MotoGP is back on your screens this weekend with Marc Marquez needing just 49 more points to take his third premier class title in four years.
Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa are the most successful current riders at Motegi with three wins a piece, whereas Marquez has never won in Japan.
There will be a return to action for both Bradley Smith and Jack Miller this weekend, although Iannone will sit out once again due to injury. Yamaha test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga will contest his home grand prix with Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing.
A technical layout and medium abrasive circuit mean that the central band of the tyres will play an important roll, as they need to stand up to the rigors of hard acceleration and heavy braking. Lower average temperatures at this time of year will also mean that the compound needs to warm up quickly to provide optimum levels of grip for riders.
Michelin has three different versions of the front MICHELIN Power Slick for Japan (soft compound, white marking / medium, no marking) / hard, yellow) and a choice of two rears (soft compound, white marking / medium, no marking). The two rear tyres have an asymmetrical construction, with a harder compound for the right-hand shoulder. Rain isn’t rare at Motegi in October. For wet conditions, the riders will be able to choose between the soft (blue marking) and medium (no marking) full wets, or the front and rear intermediates (silver) for changeable weather.
Piero Taramasso – Manager of the Two-Wheel Motorsport Group for Michelin said:
“Motegi signals the start of three very intense weeks where we will travel to Japan, Australia and Malaysia. All three of these races bring their own individual challenges, but also a huge logistical task. We will need to have over 4,000 tyres available for the three races, so to make this happen we have had to send some by sea and the rest will be air-freighted to each venue in readiness for the races. “The track at Motegi is a really technical circuit with a medium abrasive surface that gives good grip levels. It has some very hard-braking zones and acceleration areas that all create intense stresses on the middle of the tyre. To cope with this we have taken a range of tyres that we believe will cope with the stability that is needed for heavy braking. We have not had much testing at Motegi with the GP riders, so we will be working with our usual detailed process with each and every team and rider to make sure they are in the best position for Sunday.”
