Following their home race in Le Mans, the Michelin Motorsport team, along with the rest of the MotoGP™ paddock will be heading to Italy, and another iconic race circuit – the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, for the Gran Premio D’Italia Oakley.
The first time that Mugello hosted a Grand Prix event was in 1976, and the layout of the stunning Tuscan circuit, which undulates naturally within a beautiful tree lined valley, has remained practically the same ever since. Located near to Florence, the 5.245km (3.259 miles) Mugello circuit comprises nine right-hand corners and six left-handers, along with a high-speed 1,141m (.709 miles) straight.
This complex circuit is one of the fastest and most demanding of the year, with its mix of slow and fast corners and sweeping curves where the tyres must cope with hard acceleration and heavy braking zones. This is combined with off-camber corners and medium-severity asphalt, all of which place very specific demands on the tyres.
The Michelin Power Slick tyre allocation for Mugello will be Soft, Medium and Hard compounds, with the front options all being symmetric and the rear options all asymmetric, with a harder right-hand-side to take into account the greater number of right-hand corners.
Despite its southerly location, Mugello can also suffer from rain showers and wet weather is always a possibility. This prospect means that Michelin Power Rain tyres will be available if needed. These will be in Soft and Medium compounds front and rear, with the fronts being symmetric and the rears asymmetric, like their slick counterparts.
Speaking ahead of the Mugello race weekend, Piero Taramasso, Michelin Two Wheel Motorsport Manager, said: “Last year was a little strange here in Mugello due to Covid restrictions, so it will be great to come back this year with a capacity crowd of spectators, and to once again experience the incredible atmosphere that this iconic circuit is well known for.
“The weather here at this time of year can be changeable. The hilly terrain can create cool temperatures in the morning, but these can increase through the day to become very hot during the afternoon. In addition, it is a difficult circuit layout for both the tyres and the riders. However, despite these challenges, last year we set new records across the board – all-time circuit lap record, race lap record, top speed record, and a new race duration record – so with this in mind I am confident that our tyres will cope and give the local fans a race weekend to remember.”
The on-track MotoGP action starts with Free Practice sessions 1 and 2 on Friday, followed by Free Practice sessions 3 and 4, plus Qualifying 1 and 2 on Saturday. On Sunday, following the morning Warm-Up session, the lights will go out for the start of the 23-lap race at 14:00 local time.
