• After four weeks of respite, Michelin and the World Championship drivers MotoGP™ return to the circuits with the round of Silverstone (England).
• From the shortest to the longest circuits: after the hilly and contented route of the Sachsenring (Germany), at the beginning of July, Michelin's partners are playing this time on the longest and flat circuit of the championship.
• New for this 2024 edition: the Michelin Motorsport teams have planned a front tire that is a little harder than in 2023 (Hard rubber) in order to support the increase in performance of the motorcycles.
Constituting the tenth round of the season, the Monster Energy British Grand Prix also marks the end of the first half of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship. During the first nine rounds, each more exciting than the last, Michelin had the opportunity to demonstrate the technological perfection of its tires in multiple conditions, and each time in front of an impressive crowd. Since the start of the season, numerous records have been broken in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators, such as at the Michelin Grand Prix de France, which welcomed nearly 300 people in May, including 000 for Sunday alone. This weekend, the stands at Silverstone (with a capacity of 119 people) will also be packed to admire the MotoGP acrobats.
A former Royal Air Force base, the Silverstone circuit is located just an hour from the center of Birmingham to the north and 1 hours from London to the south. It was founded in 30 by a group of racing enthusiast friends, and hosted its first motorcycle Grand Prix in 1947. With a length of 1977 km, it has eight left turns and ten right turns, plus one straight line of 5,9 m.
“The Silverstone circuit is not only the longest of the season, but it is also one of the fastest”, noted Piero Taramasso, manager of Michelin's two-wheel competition. “The sequences of high-speed turns constitute the DNA of this legendary place, which I compare a little to Assen (Netherlands) where we went in June. The grip level is good, but the asphalt (resurfaced in 2019) is not very abrasive and the level of wear is measured. Silverstone is nevertheless a track which puts a lot of strain on the tires, because the braking there is more violent than on many other circuits. The restarts generate heavy loads on the rear tire, which must withstand significant stress. I would also highlight the meteorological uncertainty, as our records show significant variations depending on the year. This doesn't worry us because our tires are versatile. We selected the same rubbers as last year, with the exception of the Hard compound for the front wheel, which we chose a notch harder in order to respond to the technical and aerodynamic developments of the motorcycles. If since the start of the season the riders have broken numerous records, it is of course because their bikes are more efficient, but also because Michelin has been able to support them with tires allowing them to exploit their full potential. of their machines. »
For the Monster Energy British Grand Prix, Michelin will provide its partners with three symmetrical rubber compounds (Soft, Medium, Hard) for the front wheel, and tires with Soft and Medium compounds for the rear. Given the greater number of turns to the right, the rear tires will benefit from reinforced rubber on the right side.
In the event of rain, Michelin will offer its MICHELIN Power Rain range in Soft and Medium rubbers for the front and rear, with the same profile as the MICHELIN Power Slick range.
In 2023, the Sprint race was won by Álex Márquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP), ahead of Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).
On Sunday, the Grand Prix saw the victory of Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia Racing), ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). A podium then made up of three different manufacturers, highlighting the fact that Michelin tires offer top-notch performance regardless of the motorcycle used.
The 2024 edition of the Monster Energy British Grand Prix will take shape on Friday August 2, with a practice session in the morning, then a second which in the afternoon will allow the 10 fastest drivers to directly access the second qualifying phase (Q2). After the free practice session, Saturday morning, Q1 will allow the drafting of two additional starters with a view to determining, at the end of Q2, the starting grid for the weekend. The Sprint race (10 laps) will take place on Saturday at 16:00 p.m. (15:00 p.m. in France), and the Grand Prix (20 laps) is scheduled for 13:00 p.m. London time.
