Michelin made history today at the OCTO British Grand Prix at Silverstone (England) by supporting Maverick Viñales (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) to his first MotoGP victoryTM and equaling the record of seven different winners in seven races.
Starting from pole position, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) retained the advantage at the start, before being overtaken by Viñales on the first lap. The Suzuki rider resisted the pack on the handlebars of his machine equipped with MICHELIN Power Slick hard tires at the front and medium at the rear. Viñales led until the end and even widened his lead as the laps went on. It offers the first victory to Suzuki since 2007 and the triumph of Chris Vermeulen in the rain at Le Mans, since 2000 and the victory of Kenny Robert Jr in the dry at Motegi. Viñales is also the very first rider to win in MotoGP, Moto2TM and Moto3TM.
Behind, the fights kept the 73 spectators gathered in the stands in suspense. Crutchlow finally gained the upper hand over Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) to take 310e place and delight British fans. For his part, Rossi was involved in various battles throughout the 19 laps of the race before securing the podium ahead of championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) and his teammate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda). Sixth, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) is the first representative of the Italian brand to finish and ahead of Aleix Espargaro (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR). Reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) took 8e place ahead of Danilo Petrucci (OCTO Pramac Yakhnich) and Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini). The top ten is made up of five different brands.
The race, reduced to 19 laps, took place on a dry track. The start had to be restarted after a collision on the first lap between Loris Baz (Avintia Racing) and Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3). The red flag was immediately raised. Fortunately, no driver was injured and the race was able to resume a little later. Viñales is the seventh different winner in seven races. A first since the 1999/2000 season which also saw seven different drivers win on Michelin tires!
Michelin and the MotoGP “circus” will go directly to Italy for the 13e round of the championship at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Sunday September 11.
Maverick Vinales – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR:
" It's incredible. We worked so hard on the tires this weekend. We tried the hard on Friday and the team did a great job. We also worked very hard with Michelin and I am very happy with this result. Richard, our Michelin team technical advisor, said that the hard would be the best choice for us. We followed it 100% and it worked perfectly. »
Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager:
“This race went well for us and we would like to congratulate Maverick Viñales on his first victory. The weekend was difficult with different weather conditions, hot, cold, wet, dry, and even windy, but our tires performed well in all situations. During the dry sessions, several drivers broke the lap record. It is most encouraging. And the race times were also very good, despite the cold and rain the day before which had washed the track and made it very “green”. The tire choices were therefore complicated today because the driving time in the dry had been reduced. In the end, everything went well and our partners used two different tires on the front and rear. We go directly to Italy, to Misano, a very demanding circuit. It's up to us to continue on the path of performance that we have taken in recent times and in different conditions. Still hoping to have a nice and dry whole weekend on the Adriatic coast. »
