Le TT Circuit Assen on which the MotoGP Grand Prix Sunday is generally not very demanding on the tires, due to its layout with fast curves (12 on the right, 6 on the left), with the exception of the tight sequence 1-2-3-4 .
However, this 90th edition in “the Cathedral” had the particularity of taking place on asphalt resurfaced in 2020 and on which Michelin had not carried out any tests.
In these conditions, the Clermont-based manufacturer generally provides 4 types of front tires instead of three, and the same for the rear. This is what it did by offering in addition to its usual allocation an extra-hard symmetrical front tire and its asymmetrical rear counterpart.
In practice, the extra-hard ones were not used because Bibendum had hit the mark with his usual soft/medium/hard proposition, defined even before the start of the season, as the regulations require. Concretely, the usual allocation was therefore used as defined here:
However, the men of Bibendum, as they always do, constantly monitored the behavior of their envelopes, while collecting feedback from the pilots.
Here are their summary notes regarding this MotoGP weekend (we'll spare you the MotoE).
Friday :
Good start to the weekend in Assen. The track was completely resurfaced a year ago, so the grip is very good and that makes everything easier from a tire point of view.
Dry in the morning with a track temperature of 28°C.
Dry at the start of the afternoon session, but it started to rain after about 15 minutes. The track temperature dropped from 30 to 25°C.
In general, the tires perform well (front and rear) with good grip and feel. The tires are in good condition after use, without excessive wear and at normal temperatures.
before:
Soft: Good grip and good sensations. Works great in the morning for everyone and in the afternoon for riders who don't stress their tires.
Medium: More support but less grip than Soft.
Rain: Very good grip and feedback, although a little soft on the right side due to braking forces.
Back :
Soft: Very good grip. More than Medium and no drop in speed has been reported.
Medium: Good tire with good stability and grip levels. Good heating and good visual appearance when worn.
Hard: Very good stability, but 2 warm-up rounds necessary. Then worked well but with less potential than the Medium or Soft in today's conditions.
Rain: Very good initial grip without apparent loss of potential.
On Saturday:
Dry weather today with track temperatures of 30°C in the morning and 40°C in the afternoon.
Good tire performance of all options in terms of grip and consistency. The characteristic that best differentiates the different specifications is stability. The tires are in good condition with little wear and normal temperatures. The times were fast, beating the circuit lap record by 0,2 seconds (MV).
The choice for tomorrow's race could be varied because many options can be used in the race (Front – Soft and Med / Rear – Soft, Med and Hard).
before:
Soft: good grip and good feeling. Worked well in the morning for everyone and in the afternoon for lighter riders. This tire gives a lot of confidence to the drivers.
Medium: more support but less grip than Soft. Good maneuverability and good regularity.
Back :
Soft: good grip at maximum tilt angles and few falls.
Medium: good performance with stability and good level of grip. Good warm-up time, with good consistency and good appearance when worn.
Hard: very good stability, although the warm-up takes longer but then it becomes more and more efficient. Very consistent lap times and predictable behavior.
At the end of the two days of testing and the warm up, the drivers made the following choices for the race:
Michelin then released the following press release after the race:
