• Third round of the World Championship MotoGP
™ for the new Michelin Power Slick rubber compounds in Austin.
• The COTA (Circuit of The Americas) presents a particular, selective and bumpy route on which the drivers move in an anti-clockwise direction.
• Michelin has selected reinforced rear tires on the right shoulder in order to compensate for the stresses exerted on the rubber by a particularly demanding sequence of three turns.
COTA (Circuit of The Americas) was built in the early 2010s on the territory of the city of Elroy (Travis County), near Austin, the capital of Texas. It can accommodate up to 120 spectators and its route extends over 000 km. It has 5,513 turns (20 on the right and 9 on the left), with fairly significant elevation changes, including a 11 m positive one from the first turn! The other highlights of its route are its long straight line of more than 40 m, where motorcycles exceed 1 km/h, but also its Cobra-shaped tower, which peaks at 200 meters in height, inside the turn 350. The “COTA”, where the MotoGP World Championship has visited annually since 49, once again constitutes the third round of the season, after two very competitive races on the circuits of Lusail (Qatar) and Portimão (Portugal) .
This circuit in the south of the United States also has some specificities which directly concern the tires, starting with the lack of grip on the asphalt. There is also the bumpy side of the track to take into consideration, the latter having been built on ground on which roughness forms over time. The circuit's technical services are aware of this phenomenon and occasionally carry out planing operations. But if the surface of the tarmac then becomes a little flatter it is also more ribbed, which generates changes in grip when the drivers pass over these modified areas. Fortunately, for all these conditions Michelin has tires that will adapt, and will be able to offer, as always, a good level of performance as well as a feeling of confidence to its partners.
« We know the COTA route well, where we are bringing our new rubber compounds this year, which creates some unknowns ", said Piero Taramasso, manager of the Michelin Two-Wheel competition. “ On the other hand, we know that the grip will be weak, and that its surface will be uneven in places. Based on our data and taking into account the configuration of the circuit, we selected a symmetrical tire for the front wheel, in three rubber notches (Soft, Medium, Hard) and two asymmetrical notches for the rear, in Soft and Medium. . To compensate not for the number of turns but rather for the sequence of the triple right (turns 16, 17 and 18) which generates very strong constraints, the right shoulder of the rear tires will be harder. We therefore intend to provide the perfect technical package to our partners, who broke numerous records on this track last year and who of course intend to try to do better this year, partly thanks to our tires. »
In Austin, the weather is generally dry and the outside temperature reaches an average of 25°C during the day. However, Michelin will also bring its MICHELIN Power Rain range, in case of rain. This consists here of symmetrical Soft and Medium tires for the front, as well as asymmetrical Soft and Medium tires for the rear, with a harder right side.
Race weekend schedule
On Friday, the first free practice sessions for MotoGP will take place during a 45-minute session at the end of the morning. Then, a new session, this time of one hour in the afternoon, will allow the 10 fastest drivers to directly access the second phase of qualifying, the next day.
Saturday will start with 30 minutes of free practice, then the first qualifying session (15 min) will allow the two fastest to join the 10 drivers already qualified in Q2. This final session (also 15 minutes) will determine the order on the starting grid, for the entire weekend.
The start of the Sprint race (10 laps) will be given at 15 p.m. on Saturday. The start of the Grand Prix (20 laps) is scheduled for Sunday, at 14 p.m. local.
Records set in 2023
- Absolute Circuit record: 2'01.892, by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).
- Record for the best lap in the race: 2'03.126, by Alex Rins (LCR Honda), winner of the 2023 edition.
- Race duration record: 41'14.649.
