Following a catastrophic British GP last year, everyone involved with proceedings at Silverstone this weekend is hoping that things go to plan and that the weather plays ball!
Much work has been done to the circuit in the last 12 months following the wash-out of 2018, which means that the team at Michelin have no data to work with when it comes to tyre selection over the next few days.
The last rider to win a MotoGP race in the UK was Andrea Dovizioso, who finished ahead of the factory Yamaha pair of Vinales and Rossi. Dovi will be hoping to string together back-to-back wins after his last corner success in Austria two weeks ago, although Marc Marquez still holds the all time lap record.
The 5.9km long circuit is one of the fastest on the MotoGP calendar, and places much more strain on the right-hand side of the tyre, especially between the final turn (18) and Turn 4. To deal with this, all of Michelin’s rear race tyres will be of asymmetric design this weekend, with a harder rubber compound on the right hand shoulder. The soft compound front Power Slick is also asymmetric, while all other front slick and rain options are symmetric.
Ahead of the race this weekend, Michelin Motorsport 2-Wheel Manager Piero Taramasso had this to say:
“It was a huge disappointment for all involved with what happened last year at Silverstone, but the circuit has done a good job and had it totally resurfaced, but this means we are heading there with no knowledge of how the surface will actually perform.
The range of tyres we have selected is based on the data supplied to us from the company that laid the asphalt, so we have some information of what types of stones and other materials have been used to make up the surface. It is always a challenge to go somewhere we haven’t tested at; this is why we had it placed in the rules that we could take four tyres to give the riders every opportunity to find the best compound for them and their bike.
We are confident with our allocation and are looking forward to seeing how the new surface behaves, we have initial good reports, but want to experience it for ourselves, and of course we are certainly hoping for good weather, but we are going to England so who knows what will happen!”
