• The impressive Mugello circuit hosts the seventh round of the MotoGP™ World Championship this weekend.
• This is the most technical track of the season, but also the one where the bikes reach the highest speed.
• Seventh and eighth rounds of the FIM ENEL MotoE™ World Championship with electric motorcycles and more durable tires, with a distinctive tread design.
The Mugello circuit has hosted the FIM MotoGP World Championship for almost 50 years (1976). It is also this year that the site will celebrate its half-century of existence with a route which became permanent in 1974. Over time its development has not changed, just like its rural setting, in the heart of Tuscany. . Located not far from Florence, very popular with drivers, Mugello has nine right turns and six left turns, for a length of 5,245 km. It is also the circuit which contains the longest straight line in the championship: 1,141 km. While new chronometric references have been established there in 2023, each rider will be keen to try to beat these records which testify to the constant improvement of their motorcycles. Performances made possible, also, by the progress made by the Michelin tire ranges, whose revisited mixtures for the 2024 season accompany the evolution of these cutting-edge machines.
“Mugello is the most technical circuit of the season”, indicate Piero Taramasso, manager of Michelin's two-wheel competition. “It's a very difficult track for the tires, because it mixes slow corners with high-speed curves and very violent braking. This configuration presents very strong constraints in places, while the very long straight allows you to well exceed 360 km/h, which requires having tires that are comfortable in all areas of the game. We also know that the Weather can be changeable, even in this season, but we have everything planned. What is certain is that the location of the circuit, in the Tuscan countryside, will give fairly cool temperatures at the start of the day. On the other hand, if the sun is out it will be very hot in the afternoon. Last year, we recorded 44°C on the ground during the sprint race, and 42°C for the Grand Prix. We have therefore selected rubber notches accordingly, to compensate for all situations and offer drivers tires that are very versatile and consistent in their performance. »
To meet all these challenges, Michelin will provide its partners with three choices of rubber (Soft, Medium, Hard) for the front wheel, and two compounds (Soft and Medium) for the rear wheel. Given the greater number of turns to the right, the rear tires will be asymmetrical and reinforced at their right shoulder.
In the event of rain, Michelin will supply its MICHELIN Power Rain range with Soft and Medium rubbers for the front and rear, using the same profile as the MICHELIN Power Slick range.
Records to break
In terms of pure speed, the record to beat is the one set last year by Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). The South African driver reached 366,1 km/h during the sprint race on Saturday afternoon.
The lap record was also broken last year, this time by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) in 1min44. It was the first time in MotoGP history that a rider went under 855min1 on the Mugello circuit.
Seventh and eighth rounds of the FIM ENEL MotoE™ World Championship
After Portimão (Portugal), Le Mans (France) and Barcelona (Spain), it is the turn of Mugello to host MotoE. Like the previous season, the Electric Motorcycle World Championship takes place over 16 races, in two editions over eight MotoGP weekends. These motorcycles have the particularity of being equipped for this 2024 season with new Michelin tires incorporating 49% renewable and recycled materials at the front, and 53% at the rear (compared to 34% and 52% respectively in 2023).
We also note a new design of the rear tire, whose tread features ephemeral patterns with a velvet appearance, destined to fade during the first laps. These patterns are reminiscent of the design of the VISION Concept presented in 2017, which is an illustration of Michelin's sustainable development model in the tire sector, by 2050.
Race weekend schedule
On Friday, MotoE will enter the track first for 15 minutes of testing. Then the first MotoGP free practice sessions will take place for 45 minutes, at the end of the morning. Then, a new session of MotoE testing will this time precede an hour of MotoGP, testing during which the 10 fastest riders will qualify directly for the second phase of qualifying, the next day.
At the end of the day, the two MotoE qualifying practice sessions will be played in two 10-minute periods, and will round off the day's action on the track.
Saturday will start with 30 minutes of free practice for MotoGP, then the first qualifying session (15 min) will allow the two fastest to join the 10 riders already qualified in Q2. This final session (also 15 minutes) will determine the order on the starting grid for the entire weekend.
Then, the races will take place between 12:15 p.m. and 16:10 p.m.: first the MotoE (7 laps), then the MotoGP Sprint race (11 laps), and finally the second round of the MotoE.
The start of the Grand Prix (23 laps) will be given on Sunday, at 14 p.m. local time.
Note that the race weekend will be followed, on Monday, by a day of official tests, in which all the teams will participate in preparation for the rest of the season.
