At Michelin, we know the tune: When something goes wrong, it's often the tires that the drivers blame first! In Clermont-Ferrand, we are used to these repetitive complaints, some of which have even made a specialty of them, like Andrea Dovizioso at Ducati.
But this part of “I love you, me neither” is gradually tending to disappear, mainly thanks to the increasing number of data which today makes it possible to know what exactly riders do on their motorcycle.
We are not yet at the F1 stage, where the box can indicate in real time to its driver that he is only passing 98% in this or that corner, but we can at least respond directly or indirectly to a complaint , providing some data.
This was the case in Austin where, without this being specific, Jack Miller and Michelin engaged in a little game of ping-pong…
Friday evening, as has generally been the case this year, Michelin released its rather comprehensive technical notes to journalists:
“A positive first day in Austin. Wet in the morning with a track temperature of 26°, dry in the afternoon with a much higher track temperature of 43°.
The track has been resurfaced at T1, T10, T12 and in sector 4, and the grip levels are not consistent.
Rain tires:
The soft front tends to move a little but grip and feedback are good. The medium offered more stability, but still with good grip.
The soft rear was good in terms of heat and grip, but then had a tendency to overheat and slide when the track dried. The medium worked best at the end of the session when the track began to dry. All tires looked good after being used.
Slick tires:
The soft front had good initial grip but started to appear too soft after a few laps. Still, he was good for Time Attack.
The mid front was tested but we need more laps with this option to confirm its suitability for racing.
The hard front worked very well, with a good warm-up is a good overall return. It also offers very good support.
The soft rear has good potential, especially for Time Attack. The medium has good consistency and good warm-up but the overall level of grip is lower than the soft.
With today's track conditions and temperatures, the hard rear appears too hard and provides less grip as a result. »
It will be recalled that the track was wet in the morning in Austin, dry in the afternoon, very bumpy and with very heterogeneous levels of grip. The drivers therefore had a lot of work to do to begin to determine their choice of tires for a race whose conditions they did not then know. At Michelin, we observed this carefully, while obviously providing them with the most precise information possible. So far, everything was going well, especially since the drivers were much more busy complaining about the bumps than the tires...
But the relative tranquility of Bibendum in the face of the unknown of Austin would be put to the test on Saturday, where after being the fastest in FP3 and FP4, Jack Miller could not do better than 10th during qualifying, almost a second behind his teammate, and far from his FP3 time.
Very disappointed, the Australian hinted that his soft rear tire was not up to what it should have been: “I had a hard tire in FP4 and I did three tenths per lap better than what I could do in qualifying. I was able to do a 2'02.9 in FP3. I don't know. It’s not for lack of trying, I can tell you that. I pushed hard and it didn't work, and with the first tire it didn't work well. It was the best I could do. This is something that has happened many times before and honestly I'm sick of it. Let's move on and see what happens on Sunday. I did my best, I stayed calm, I tried to do my job, I worked for the race: Everything that is in my control, I try to do the best I can. »
The attack may have been non-nominative, but Michelin responded in the same way in these technical notes from Saturday evening...
“Dry in the morning with a track temperature of 34°, rising to 40° in the afternoon.
The drivers were largely focused on the bumps today, and a little less on the feel of the tires. This led to different comments that varied from bike to bike and rider to rider.
What we know for sure is that the hard front is the best solution for racing, as it provides good grip and support when braking. The mid-forward hasn't been tried much so far.
Concerning the rear, all rubbers are still possible for the race. The tender showed very good potential, in particular with its warm-up and on its left side. The medium provides good grip but generates better stability, while the hard can also be a good choice because of its performance in terms of stability and consistency.
There was a complaint after Q2, but based on immediately available data we note that there was an exit lap 20 seconds slower than normal during the second run, so any perceived lack of performance during the The single attack lap of the time could be attributed to the resulting drop in temperature and tire pressure (which we have to confirm later after detailed analysis of the data).
Additionally, the biggest factor in the time appears to be an 8/10 second drop in sector 2. Run 1 was similar to Pecco's first run in terms of times. »
We are not going to push the analysis further (yes, the exit lap was slow but for Takaaki Nakagami and Jorge Martin as well, which did not prevent them from achieving their best lap afterwards) and even less establish ourselves as judge between both parties, but one thing seems clear: From now on, Michelin will respond point by point to the explicit or implicit accusations of the drivers!
A word to you ...
