Nicolas Goubert, Deputy Director of Michelin Motorsport, looks back on the Qatar Grand Prix where Bibendum's performance was unanimously applauded, starting with Hervé Poncharal et Casey Stoner.
Having spoken to us with the greatest frankness after the difficult post-GP tests in Valencia, it seemed the least we could do to give him the floor again after the very good performance of the French tires on the Losail circuit, before considering the weekend in Argentina.
After the tests in Qatar, everyone focused a bit on the front tires, with the 34 and the 36. More than a question of rubber, how were they different?
Nicolas Goubert: “In fact, we had an offer with the same rubber, but, in fact, the carcass of the 34 was stiffer. »
Following these tests, what was the allocation available for the Qatar Grand Prix?
Nicolas Goubert: “We brought these two tires, 34 K and 36 K, plus an additional tire which was a 36 with a slightly stiffer rubber to protect against possible wear problems which are not appeared. This one was therefore not used at all and we stuck to the two tires that we had offered during the Qatar tests, 34 K and 36 K.
Rigid tires were used by Marquez, Lorenzo, Rossi and Crutchlow. »
When you need a new tire, do we still have a 3-week manufacturing lead time?
Nicolas Goubert: “Yes, overall that’s pretty much it. Sometimes, when we simply have something to do, we can go a little faster. For example, when we arrive at circuits that are similar and we have to bring the same tires twice in a row, in particular with the front tires. »
Are the tires handmade?
Nicolas Goubert: “Yes, the tires are made by hand. »
Ultimately, everyone focused on the front tires, because they required time to adapt, as you pointed out, but ultimately wasn't it rather the rear tire that was decisive for the race?
Nicolas Goubert: “Ha… Yes, maybe, but when we look at the results, the first four drivers are within two seconds, a handkerchief. »
In second and fourth position, you have two drivers who made the same choice (medium rear editor's note), in first and third (soft rear editor's note), two drivers who made the same choice; if we had reversed the mounts, would that have reversed the positions?
Nicolas Goubert: “I don’t know! (laughs). What is clear is that Marquez said he could not have used the other tire (editor's note: the tensioner). He also said that he would have hoped that Lorenzo's tire would collapse, which was not the case (laughs). »
Rossi told us at the end of the race "maybe I could have done better with the other one, but ultimately I can't know."
So, honestly, I don't know if that would have changed the outcome. »
Where we are a little lost is when Dovizioso says "at the end of the race, my rear tire was destroyed, like Lorenzo's" while Lorenzo made his best time two laps from the end and, in appearance, his tire showed nothing, as the camera which focused on it allowed us to see.
Nicolas Goubert: “I think the vocabulary he used is a little exaggerated. I think he meant that he was skating more than at the start of the race, and, as he saw Lorenzo who was in front of him, who was also skating, that's why he must have wanted to say "we were skating in the same way ". There was certainly an evolution in skating and that's why he exaggerated a little, but behind it, it was probably the same. »
And even if it's slipping, the times are there!
Nicolas Goubert: “Exactly! This is why we can say that his vocabulary was exaggerated, because when we see that Jorge does his best time on the twentieth lap... It is obviously the most spectacular, but the first four do their best times between the 15th and the 22nd lap, something like that, so everyone at the end of the race.
Perhaps also they all spat in their hands a little more, excuse the expression, because you must have noticed that Lorenzo sets his best time when Marquez passes second. We sign it Mark two, so he adds a little more. Before, Vale had set his best time on lap 16, when he was trying to catch up, for a while. There were therefore good reasons for them to give a little more to improve their times, but the fact remains that the tire made it possible to do so. So the tire was not destroyed, that’s clear! (laughs) »
Before closing this page on Qatar, and as you usually say things, do you have a “yes, but” to express after this eminently positive assessment?
Nicolas Goubert: “No. Honestly, this is beyond my expectations. If I had been told to sign for this a year or even a month ago, I would have signed straight away (laughs). Or even at the start of the weekend! (laughs). »
It is certain that you must have felt serious stress during this first Grand Prix.
Nicolas Goubert: “Yes, and when we see everything the drivers said after the race, Lorenzo kissing his tire, four or five drivers breaking the lap record, etc. For us it was beyond your expectations. »
We are therefore turning the page on Qatar and looking towards Argentina.
Nicolas Goubert: “Exactly. We are enjoying our weekend in Qatar, but of course we have to prepare for Argentina. However, if Qatar was important, because it was the first race, Argentina, like Austin, represent two new challenges. In Qatar, we couldn't miss our return, and there were a lot of question marks, but we were lucky to have driven there ten days before.
In Argentina and Austin, we don't have that luck. And not only have we not ridden there ten days before, but moreover, these are new circuits for us, since they were not on the calendar until 2008.
We went there for a day of testing last year, the Monday after the races, in conditions that were pretty good in Argentina and rainy in Austin, with the test drivers. We don't regret having done it at all, but in twelve months, our models have evolved. We are therefore not going to go there with the same offer as at the time, and we are going to try to translate the few things that we saw at the time to try not to make any mistakes for these races -there.
But the challenge is different from that of the first race, and we have less training on these terrains. »
Bridgestone brought an extra-hard rear tire, which was only used once, to cope with an abrasive surface and the very demanding #11 curve. Are you also going to bring a new tire?
Nicolas Goubert: “Yes. We are going to bring more resistant tires than those we had in Qatar. Of course, we look at what Bridgestone used, but the difficulty comes from the fact that we don't know how our ranges compare to theirs. When we see that they used the same tire on one circuit or another, can we draw the conclusion that it will be the same for us? No, not directly.
I take an example. We use 36 and 34 K in Qatar. These tires did the race, they came back with a given amount of wear and were satisfactory. Those from Bridgestone, the same, but a little slower (laughs). I close the parenthesis (laughs). They go to a second circuit, and it works. This doesn't mean that ours will also pass. I don't have their level of wear, I only have ours, so I don't know what margin they had compared to ours. So we have information, but it is only information and we cannot draw direct conclusions like “they used such and such a tire in such and such a place and in such and such a place so it will be the same for ours”. No. It's interesting, and of course we watch it, but it's not enough.
This is also what makes this first year interesting. »
Yes, but the problem for you now is that as you successfully entered Qatar, it is likely that it will be a little less brilliant on one circuit or another during this year...
Nicolas Goubert: “Yes, obviously, it will happen. It's clear. We know it, because we have set the bar high. I just hope that people are as far-sighted as you are and that they know that we are not going to be able to repeat the same performance 18 times a year in our first year. »
What is your approach to asymmetric tires?
Nicolas Goubert: “All our rear tires were asymmetrical in Qatar. Even if the asymmetry will be less marked, depending on the asymmetry of the circuit, they will continue to be so in future races and this will almost systematically be a constant throughout the year. »
Are these trigums?
Nicolas Goubert: “Yes, with a strip in the center that is a little more resistant, and right and left depending on the asymmetry of the circuit. »
And for the front?
Nicolas Goubert: “For the front, we have not yet made asymmetric tires. We are still in the development phase. On the circuits we went to, in Valencia we didn't have any, and we realized that we should have had them, in Sepang we didn't have any and I don't think we have any. no need, we'll probably have one at Phillip Island, and in Qatar we didn't need one.
We're not going to bring any at the start of the season because there's no real justification for that, but we'll probably have some at Sachsenring, Phillip Island and Valencia.
Concerning multi-compound tires, it was we who, at the time, popularized their use, then we were very quickly followed by competitors. Indeed, these tires provide a fairly decisive advantage, so there is no question of abandoning them. »
We greatly thank Nicolas Goubert for giving us a moment of his precious time between his return from Qatar and his departure for Argentina.
