This weekend sees Michelin and the MotoGP paddock arrive in Italy at the famous Mugello circuit for round 6 of the 2017 championship.
With three wins so far this season Maverick Viñales holds a 17 point advantage over Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, with Rossi 6 points further back.
After his 2nd placed finish at Le Mans, Johann Zarco will also look to be the first Frenchman to take back-to-back podiums since Lanconi in 1999.
Over the course of it’s 5,245 metre length Mugello features an inviting mixture of fast and slow turns, elevation changes and one of the fastest straights on the MotoGP calendar with riders often topping 350kph. Bike setup is difficult as engineers tyre to find a setting which best copes with the demands of heavy braking and off-camber turns.
Michelin’s rear power Slick tyres will be available in both symmetric and asymmetric constructions, the medium and hard specifications featuring a harder compound on the rider hand shoulder for increased durability and more consistent performance. Michelin’s tyres will need be pushed very hard this weekend as the riders load the power coming out of the slower corners and through the faster bends where edge grip is pushed to the extreme.
For the first time this season the front Power slicks will feature a stiffer construction which has been introduced following the recent test at Jerez in Spain where a comparison assessment was conducted between this tyre and the current incarnation of front tyre. After this test the riders were consulted on their preference and a majority chose to go with the stiffer construction.
This stiffer carcass will be available in a soft (white band), medium (no band) and hard (yellow band) compound, and this is expected to be the preferred choice moving forward for the rest of the year. The medium will be an asymmetric design with the right-hand shoulder having a harder compound.
Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager commented:
“Mugello is an amazing event and a very complex circuit to overcome. We had a good race there in 2016 and set a race duration record, so we will certainly be looking to at least repeat that, if not improve on what we achieved last season and after the results last time out at Le Mans – where we had new lap and race duration records – we are in a determined mood to continue in that mode. This race will see us changing the construction of the front tyre to a stiffer version from what we have used so far this year. We had a request from several riders to test this tyre again after the decision had been made following the pre-season tests to use the current spec. So we supplied it at the recent Jerez test for a comparison – this stiffer construction tyre was originally used with a lot of success at the final race last season in Valencia and partly in the winter tests along with the current one, so the riders already had knowledge of it. Following this test all riders and teams were consulted by Dorna and a majority decision was taken to introduce this tyre from Mugello and onwards for the rest of the season. We are happy with this decision because it again gives us a clear direction for the year, and again highlights how Michelin is working to give the best solutions for the MotoGP field.
Free practice kicks off at 9:55am tomorrow, so don’t miss it!
