The Bugatti circuit benefited this winter from a new surface, which according to Mike di Meglio, recent winner of the 24 Hours, should allow him to gain a second in MotoGP. We also announced it exclusively... The teams in this category will meet in Sarthe at the beginning of next week for preliminary tests.
If Honda will only participate on the second day with Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, the five other manufacturers (Yamaha, Ducati, Suzuki, Aprilia and KTM) will be present from Tuesday.
What differences did Mike di Meglio feel about the new coating? “ Already, there are no more bumps. The circuit now offers a lot of grip, and it is very abrasive. We rode the 24H with the GMT94 Yamaha with very hard tires. Significant tire wear will be an important factor to consider for the Grand Prix. If we had driven with the tires used last year, we would not have done ten laps. In terms of time, I think that in MotoGP we will gain one second per lap. »
Mike with Niccolo Canepa and David Checa during their victory at the 24 Hours (© GMT94 Yamaha)
What is the influence of the new coating compared to the old one? We asked the question to Giorgio Barbier, the Director of Motorcycle Racing at Pirelli, whose company supplied tires for the last 24 Hours, equipping among others the SRC Kawasaki, the BMW Tecmas, the Kawasaki Bolliger, the Team 33 Louit Moto, National Motos and Motobox Kremer.
“The new surface is very fast, explains Barbier, as shown by the new lap record set by Randy de Puniet, and very difficult for the rear tire. In fact, last year you could get away with running on a medium compound, like the SC1, with no distance issues, whereas this year the SC1 was only doing 10-15 laps.
“In the EWC category this year we used the SC2 with good results (Randy set the fastest lap of the race in 1'36.4) from start to night, then from morning to finish, while the SC3 was used during the night, when wear became more aggressive.
The SRC Kawasaki during the last 24 hours (© SRC)
“As for the front tires, no problem for durability and performance: the teams used the SC2 and SC3 front without the slightest problem.
“The Superstock teams have used the SC3 with very good results in terms of durability (3-4 hours) with no longevity issues and with very consistent lap times over their entire lifespan (over 100 laps with the same tire). in this category).
“If we have to summarize, the new asphalt gives a lot of grip but, it is also very aggressive on the rear tire. »
Giorgio Barbier and Carlos Checa (© PneusNews.it)
