Providing tires to the entire MotoGP field requires a set of very complicated successive operations, which includes design, laboratory testing, then on-track testing, manufacturing, verification, transport and assembly. And all this with temperatures on the circuits which sometimes reach less than 10° to exceed 40° like in Buriram last Sunday in WSBK, or humidity levels which climb to 90% like in Sepang during the last Malaysian GP.
It is therefore not easy, but the manufacturer could do better according to Jan Witteveen, designer of two-stroke engines for Hercules-Dkw (Sachs), Simonini, Gilera, Bimota, Cagiva and Husqvarna, before becoming technical manager in 1989 ofAprilia, with young Luigi under his command Dall'Igna.
Michelin became the exclusive supplier of MotoGP after Bridgestone gave up after seven years, the 20 million annual expenditure not providing the Japanese company with an interesting return on investment, according to its statements.
The 2018 season didn't get off to an ideal start, with e.g. Valentino Rossi who feared after the Qatar test three weeks ago that his favorite rear tire would not survive the 22 laps in Doha. The tire had already lost 0,8 kg of weight during a long rolling period of about half the race.
Additionally, drivers regularly report quality issues, often two identical tire types offer different characteristics. Or soft tires that don't allow for faster lap times.
Additionally, there are always criticisms of the allocation. For example, in Qatar, Jack Miller would not have had a new rear tire for the second qualifying session in Q2.
Jan Witteveen, a 71-year-old Dutchman with 23 World Champion titles and more than 120 GP victories from 1980 to 2004, arrived at the Qatar GP and listened to the MotoGP teams talk about the tire problem.
Günther Wiesinger speedweek asked him : Jan, discussions on Michelin continue in 2018. You have spoken to many teams. What is your impression?
“I am really shocked by the situation I found. I spoke to many people involved, including the team bosses and drivers. The situation is also strange from a security point of view.
“No one will claim that Michelin is incapable of developing truly competitive tires.
“But we are currently far from the quality that prevailed in the Bridgestone era.
“It seems that Michelin does not work in the same way with tires of the same type. This happens and is the first problem.
“The rear tires behave differently during a race. The tire does not behave like a Bridgestone, from the first lap to the last. Among the Japanese, the behavior of the tire remained constant.
“At Michelin, behavior can be quite different. It can happen that the rear tire remains constant for a certain time during a race, then deteriorates significantly.
“For the front tires, some riders complain of a bad feeling in the limit zone. When they attack, the tire deforms while rolling, the support surface changes. That's why the feeling changes again and again.
“In my opinion, Michelin tires have a different structure than Bridgestone tires. The Japanese built a tire where the structure and carcass were quite rigid and hard, then they put a rubber compound on it, adapted to the requirements of different tracks.
“Michelin works in other dimensions than Bridgestone, they chose 17 inches instead of 16,5 inches, because these sizes are also common in the series.
“The only sole supplier in WSBK Pirelli has also moved to 17 inches in the World Superbike Championship.
“But at Michelin, the tire structure is more flexible than at Bridgestone. They work with a softer carcass and harder rubber compounds. This is how they achieve the desired rigidity.
“However, this method has a disadvantage, because with a soft and flexible carcass, tire temperatures are much higher. This changes the behavior of the tire as the race progresses.
" This is the problem.
“I don't understand why the teams, MSMA or Dorna as Michelin partners, don't put more pressure on the French to design tires that work consistently, with which we can drive and expect identical performance from A to Z.
“If the lap time is slower, it doesn't matter, they are uniform and identical tires, so the conditions are the same for everyone. But security would be increased.
“That’s what I saw and noticed.
“If I have a soft casing, the whole tire deforms more, so problems develop. And if I have more power on the rear wheel, the whole tire deforms even more.
“In my opinion, the Safety Commission should put more pressure on Michelin, including the factories. The situation is dangerous.
“The teams and drivers know what’s happening with the tires, so they try to adapt. They are trying to solve problems with electronics. But it's the wrong choice.
“Bridgestone also had some problems at the start of the MotoGP World Championship. But not for three years.
“If identical tire types behave differently in MotoGP, something is wrong.
“Michelin must do something, because for years Bridgestone has demonstrated that it is possible to develop consistent tires. »
Faced with this serious attack from a media known for its “Michelin Bashing”, we will try to obtain a right of response from the French company.
Photos: Jan Witteveen alone (title) © zimbio, with Luigi Dall'Igna © gpone
