Before the MotoGP race in Assen, we were able to speak again with Nicolas Goubert, Deputy Director and Technical Director of the competition at Michelin.
We returned to the last race, in Barcelona, noting the positive but also wondering about the phenomena that appeared, whether it was the graining mentioned by Jorge Lorenzo, which we treated in a first part, or Dovizioso’s complaints about his rear tire….
Barcelona was the scene of a somewhat slow pace at the end of the race, but no crashes during this one, compared to seven last year; Do you draw a positive result from it?
Nicolas Goubert: “Barcelona was a competitive race, almost until the last lap. So it was a great spectacle and, in terms of the front tires, a satisfaction since, as you say, we did not regret any crashes during the race. »
Is it a coincidence that we have a track with low grip, but that the drivers manage to control it enough so that no one falls?
“A coincidence, no. If you like, what has been happening since the start of the season is that there is the habitual effect that drivers now have when riding our products. There is also the effect of adapting the motorcycle settings to these tires. And then, there is also the effect that we are getting better and better at understanding the needs of pilots, and therefore we continue to develop our products. These three factors combined mean that there are fewer and fewer falls. So sometimes it obviously fluctuates a little bit depending on the circuits, but overall, we can say that since Jerez, there have been few crashes. Even if at Le Mans it was equivalent, at Jerez, Mugello and Barcelona, we had fewer crashes than last year over the weekend.
the three actions we have just talked about are happening at the same time and therefore the situation is improving in a very positive way. »
We saw extraordinary images of Marc Marquez making up for a very big loss from the front…
" Yes indeed; he makes a mistake in his trajectory, or he brakes too hard, or too late, whatever, and despite this, he manages to catch up without falling to the ground, and that is indeed very positive. »
A little less positive, we had some complaints from certain Ducati riders regarding the rear…
“Yes… So indeed, at the rear we made a slightly soft choice and there was fairly rapid wear of the rear tires, without too much consequence on a lot of drivers. Those who have suffered are those who slip more, and perhaps have less advanced motorcycles. Clearly, the observation is that it is especially the privateers in Ducati who have suffered. »
Sure, but even Dovizioso said he was handicapped by his rear tire...
" Yes. but I put it in parentheses, because…. (silence) we will say that his morale greatly influences his results and his comments. And his teammate didn't seem to be bothered since he was driving fast and got back up... Anyway, we're going to put Dovizioso in parentheses a little bit. But it remains true that the non-official Ducatis suffered while others were able to take much better care of their tires. We can mention Aprilia, and it made me happy to see them there, in 8th position. Somehow, they are less demanding on the tires than the unofficial Ducati and they had a good race. »
Is this linked to engine power, since we know Aprilia's deficit in this area?
“Not necessarily the power, since you saw that Rossi and Marquez, even if we were not flawless in consistency, remained efficient at the end of the race. Pedrosa too, even if he followed a little at a distance; he remained efficient.
No, I think it's more about the steering and then maybe the electronic settings. And obviously, there are not the same resources in this area in private teams. But the driving also plays a big role. »
The Monday test came back positive...
“Yes, there was quite a bit of work, especially on the rear tires. We had quite a few rear tires in order to improve traction and reduce slippage. Since, it's normal, drivers always want more traction (laughs). We therefore had three variants which were all judged to be superior to the reference. We still need to carry out additional internal tests to find out if we can introduce them over the race distance, on more demanding circuits, etc.
So we haven't yet made a decision to know when we will make them available for racing. »
So not necessarily in Assen?
“No, not in Assen; that's for sure. »
But they are still very attractive, these tires, since they allowed Cal Crutchlow to set an excellent time with a worn engine and, what's more, without realizing it...
“(Laughs) Yes, he actually had a very good time, but we have to take all the necessary precautions before putting them into the race. »
They're based on a new structure, aren't they?
" Yes… "
