Michelin’s tyre allocation for this weekend’s Catalunya MotoGP round will be ‘similar’ to that at the Mugello round two weeks ago with some small alterations to take care of the track’s lower grip level compared some other tracks in the calendar.
The French firm will take asymmetrical rear tyres, featuring a harder right shoulder, designed to work with the high temperatures that the sweeping curves will generate. Slicks will also need to cope with lower grip levels at Montmélo than are experienced elsewhere and compounds specially developed to cope with this will be used during the weekend.
For this race the soft (white band), medium (no band) and hard (yellow band) front slick will be available, and these can be paired with the soft (white band), medium (no band) or hard (yellow) rear tyres, giving all riders the option of three front and three rear compounds.
“Montmélo is a magnificent circuit and one that has seen some great battles in the past. With its fast corners featuring several sequences of turns, a long straight and heavy braking zones it is certainly a track that will test the tyres to the full. Grip can also be compromised as the heat increases so this is something we need to take into account, along with some of the bumpy sections where the bike settings will need to be dialled in perfectly to get the best performance,” said Michelin’s Piero Taramasso.
“We had a good result at Mugello and the tyres performed very well, with this in mind – and the conditions expected in Barcelona – our tyre allocation will be very similar to the one we used in Italy. We have some different compounds to use this weekend, which are more suited to the Catalonian circuit and as always we will be monitoring our rubber very closely to make sure the riders have the optimum performance. All of these combinations will make for a very interesting race and when you add in a number of Catalonian and Spanish riders that class this as their ‘home’ Grand Prix, it will certainly make for an exciting and entertaining event.”