Michelin have shipped 1100 tyres in five trucks to these two-day tests at Valencia, as they overnight become MotoGP’s official tyre supplier. A team of around 30-35 Michelin personnel at the circuit includes eight fitters, six technicians and at least four personnel from the French company’s design staff.

“We started designing the tyres in September 2014,” Nicolas Goubert, Michelin’s technical director, said. “This is the last phase of our design process, when all the riders will give feedback on the new 17-inch sizes.”

How have the bikes changed since Michelin’s last involvement with MotoGP in 2008, when 800cc was the capacity limit? “The bikes are quicker, and maximum speeds keep rising,” Goubert answered. “They’ve gone to bigger brakes to stop the bikes, and some of the manufacturers have lowered the centre of gravity to make them easier to stop. It’s going to be even more demanding because you can put more stress on the front tyre during the braking phase.”

Michelin will take two different fronts and two different rears to races, and every team and rider will be offered the same choices. IRTA, the teams’ organisation, will collect the tyres from Michelin on the Wednesday of a race weekend and distribute them randomly to teams to ensure fairness.