• The 11th round of the FIM World Championship MotoGP
™ showed different faces during an intense weekend at the Sachsenring in Germany.
• The track record was broken on Friday afternoon, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46) setting a lap in 1'19.071.
• Saturday in the rain, Sunday in the dry: the 10 left turns and only 3 right turns on the circuit allowed Michelin's partners to express themselves with complete peace of mind, with consistent performances.
The weather in northern Germany this weekend wasn't exactly summery. While intense heat is sometimes experienced in the region in July, this time the mercury hovered painfully between 15 and 20 degrees. Rain also affected two of the three days of track activity, notably on Saturday for qualifying and during the Tissot Sprint, which took place entirely on soggy ground.
All of Michelin's MotoGP tire ranges were used, with one constant: consistent performance, regardless of humidity or temperature. Located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, in the Saxony region, the Sachsenring circuit is the shortest in the championship, with a developed length of only 3,671 km. It is also one of the slowest, but it is considered by Michelin Motorsport teams as one of the two most difficult tracks in the championship for tires (along with Phillip Island, in Australia). Of the 13 corners that make up the circuit, only 3 turn to the right. This configuration is likely to cause the tires to suffer on one side, and generate rubber cooling on the other.
« Fortunately, our preparation had integrated both the weather scenarios and the constraints specific to the circuit profile. ", noted Piero Taramasso, manager of Michelin Motorsport's two-wheel competition. "The main difficulty, beyond managing the rain, was the track temperature, which remained low throughout the weekend (with a peak of only 29°C on the ground at the start of the Grand Prix), which added an additional challenge. For the Tissot Sprint, the vast majority of drivers opted for a Medium tire at the front and a Soft at the rear, the best possible compromise. During the Grand Prix, held on a dry track, our partners this time all chose the Hard tire at the front for its consistency, and the Medium at the rear for its versatility and long-lasting performance. What I remember from this weekend is that all the tires perfectly met expectations despite the particular nature of this circuit, where we used asymmetric tires at the front and rear (reinforced left side of the tread). On such a demanding track, made even more difficult by the precipitation and the cold, it is a real feat.
For the Liqui Moly Grand Prix of Germany, Michelin provided its partners with three asymmetrical rubber choices (Soft, Medium, Hard) for the front wheel, and two asymmetrical compounds (Soft and Medium) for the rear wheel. It is important to note that asymmetrical tires on both the front and rear wheels represent a rare configuration during the season, only used three times (Phillip Island, Sachsenring and Valencia, Spain) out of a total of 22 Grand Prix races.
On Saturday afternoon, the Tissot Sprint was won by Marc Márquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), ahead of Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha).
On Sunday, the Grand Prix victory also went to Marc Márquez (his 69rd success in 200 Grand Prix) ahead of his brother Alex (BK8 Gresini Racing). The third step of the podium is occupied by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).
New track record
The weekend's rain prevented the riders from fully exploiting the performance of their bikes and tires throughout the weekend on dry ground, but Friday saw the establishment of a new track record. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46) set a lap in 1'19.071, almost 4 tenths of a second slower than the reference time set by Jorge Martin (on a Ducati, set in 2024).
See you in a few days in Brno (Czech Republic)
The teams had barely left the Sachsenring when everyone was already focused on the 12rd round of the MotoGP World Championship, which will take place next weekend, between July 18 and 20. This will be the Czech Republic's big return to the MotoGP calendar, with the Tissot Grand Prix of Czechia at the Brno circuit.
MotoGP Germany Sachsenring Michelin MotoGP Germany Sachsenring Michelin