At the end of each Grand Prix day, in France as everywhere else, Michelin releases its technical notes concerning the more or less perfect osmosis between the track and the tires MotoGP which it provides to all competitors in the premier category.
In this respect, the Bugatti circuit, although very "stop & go" type, does not pose any major problems for French tires, which are perfectly suited to its surface.
Marc Marquez even had the luxury of beating the Sarthe circuit record on the first day.
So here are the Friday Michelin technical notes, stated by Piero Taramasso, Two-wheel Manager at Michelin Motorsport.
“Le Mans, day one, is the Michelin Grand Prix, so it’s an important event for us. This morning, it was quite cold. The track temperature was around 20°, but the wind was fresh, and that’s the difficult thing on this circuit: you have to keep the temperature in the front tire because there’s a cold wind. Anyway, this morning, with the soft front tire and the medium rear tire, all the riders were generally satisfied. The front was OK, no problem warming up, but for some riders who were more aggressive, it was a bit too soft. Anyway, they stayed with the soft front throughout the session. As for the medium rear, it offered good grip and very consistent performance. The riders were therefore able to work on their bike settings.”
And then, in the afternoon, the sun came out. The track temperature was a little warmer, around 29°, and the tire choice was hard at the front and soft at the rear. This is the combination used last year for the Sprint, and for Sunday's race, and this combination was very good. Already in the morning, the lap times were fast, but in the afternoon, they were very fast, and Marc Marquez managed to break the lap record. So it's a good performance and good consistency from the tires. The riders don't feel any drop in revs from the rear tire. The soft and medium are working well because the asphalt is not very aggressive, but the grip level is there, so we don't expect any problem with degradation, wear, on the tires. So for now it's a good first day for the Michelin Grand Prix.
MotoGP France Michelin J1
