Jorge Lorenzo took a victory down to the wire at Mugello (Italy) thanks to the new Michelin hard and soft tires which he pushed to the limits in a breathtaking final lap.
Qualified in 5e position on the grid, Lorenzo had chosen the new MICHELIN Power Slick hard compound at the front of his Yamaha and the soft tire at the rear, also used for the first time this season. The Spaniard dominated the opening laps despite constant pressure from nine-time World Champion and pole sitter Valentino Rossi. The two Yamaha riders battled hard for eight laps until a mechanical problem forced Rossi to retire, leaving Lorenzo alone in the lead. But the race was far from over because Honda driver Marc Marquez was chasing the World Champion and caught Lorenzo a few laps from the finish.
The two men then engaged in a merciless battle between the mountains of Mugello until a breathtaking final lap. Marquez found the opening on Lorenzo to take the lead, before the championship leader took control again, then Marquez again managed a maneuver. He seemed to be heading towards victory, but Lorenzo tried everything in the last corner thanks to his Michelin tires to overtake Marquez on the finish line and win with a lead of 19 thousandths of a second, after 41min36s535 of race, a time two and a half seconds faster than the Mugello record set last year – which improved the previous one dating from 2012 by almost a second. This third victory for Lorenzo allows him to widen a gap of 10 points on Marquez in the championship.
Third place went to local hero Andrea Iannone on Ducati. The Italian managed to get on the podium after a poor start costing him five places. Iannone finished very strongly by setting the best time of the day on the last lap, thus proving the longevity of the MICHELIN Power Slicks on this demanding circuit. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) had a good race to finish in 4e rank, just in front of the second Ducati driven by Andrea Dovizioso. The 6e place went to Maverick Vinales, while Bradley Smith fully deserved his 7e place and victory among the Independents. Another local driver, Danilo Petrucci, took 9e place on a “private” Ducati, while Aleix Espargaro (Suzuki) and Michele Pirro (Ducati) complete the top-ten.
Some 100 spectators – the largest crowd on a race day at Mugello – found their place on the embankments surrounding the track, under a beautiful sun and a temperature of 640°C in the air, and 26°C recorded on the asphalt (the highest of the weekend). The latest versions of the MICHELIN Power Slicks worked very well in these extreme conditions, on a circuit known to be difficult for tires. Technicians will now analyze the data from this successful weekend to continue developing products for each circuit of the season.
Next stop for Michelin, the Catalunya Grand Prix on the Montmello circuit, near Barcelona, where the MotoGP paddock will meet on Sunday June 5 for the seventh round of the season.
Jorge Lorenzo – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP:
“I am very, very satisfied with the tires and their behavior today. During the last laps they started to slip a little more, but we no longer had the same problems that we had in Jerez on the straight. It was a good weekend, a very intense race, a great show for everyone. I now have a 10-point lead over Marquez in the championship, I can only be happy. »
Nicolas Goubert - Deputy Director, Technical Director and MotoGP Program Supervisor at Michelin Motorsport:
“A very good weekend for us. We broke the race record, with a best lap achieved at the end of the race by Iannone who was very close to the lap record at Mugello. In qualifying, Rossi also set a time within a hundredth of a second of the track record. Everything went very well for us, there were no incidents that could be blamed on the front tire, which is a good thing because almost everyone used the new front tire. This gives us confidence for product development. We have taken a step here and have already turned towards Montmello where we will also have a test session after the Grand Prix. If all the races go like this weekend, we will be very happy. »
