MotoGP: Michelin, from the Australian cold to the scorching heat of Sepang

Michelin MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix – The world championship circus moves from cold Australia to the scorching heat of Malaysia, to Sepang to be precise. Michelin is called upon to face climatic conditions opposite to those of Phillip Island and many data collected during the first test will not be true, given that the track has been completely resurfaced.

However, halfway through the season the French company carried out another test with the test drivers and Cal Crutchlow and the data collected should be sufficient to manage the weekend.

Riders will have three types of front tires available, soft (white stripe), medium (without stripe) and hard (yellow stripe) compound. At the rear, the French company has brought a medium (without band) and hard (yellow band) compound and both compounds will have an asymmetric design with the harder rubber on the right shoulder of the tyre.

In the event of a wet race, both the front and rear will be available with soft (blue band) and medium (without band) compounds. In case of mixed conditions, the pilots will also be able to use the intermediate tyre, characterized by a silver band.

“The Sepang circuit was resurfaced after we did the testing, so most of the data collected will be irrelevant, but we did a mid-season test, so we have a base that we have been working on for this weekend,” he said Piero Taramasso, Head of the Michelin Motorsport two-wheeled group – The circuit has two long straights and areas where you brake hard, so front stability is very important. There are also long corners, so grip on the rear will be important. The track can reach very high temperatures and we took many factors into account before choosing the tires to bring. We know it will be another tough test for our tyres, but this is why we are in MotoGP and the more we learn the more we will improve.”

Photos: Alex Farinelli