If no one would probably have bet on Enea Bastianini’s first MotoGP victory in Qatar on the eve, probably even at Michelin’s home they would not have bet on such a fast race. The Lusail track, on the other hand, was in better conditions than expected and this allowed us to achieve unexpected performances, leaving virtually all the riders on the grid satisfied with the performance of the tires.
And it is from here that the French company wants to restart for the second race of the season, scheduled for this weekend in Mandalika, Indonesia. A track that has already shown its pitfalls during the pre-season tests, but which now includes new ones, given that it has been resurfaced from turn 17 to turn 5 and that there are still no precise indications on the new surface. For this reason the manager Piero Taramasso fears that the Asian round could be one of the most demanding of this 2022, even if he believes that Michelin has made the best choices for these complicated conditions.
“I think Mandalika will be the most difficult Grand Prix of the season for us. Already from the tests we have seen that the circuit is very demanding for the tires. It is a very fast track, which puts a lot of stress on the right side, both on the front. than on the rear. The track temperature is always very high, also there is a new asphalt, which is usually a factor that generates a lot of consumption in addition to raising the temperature of the tires. So, we have already seen that it is not a easy circuit, ”Taramasso told Motorsport.com.
During the tests you had already anticipated that you would probably have changed the allocation to the rear. What kind of choices did you make for the race weekend?
“In light of the data collected, we decided to use the rear construction that we usually carry in Thailand and Austria, which is the one designed to try to keep the temperature lower, because we found that the problem of high temperatures was generalized to all. the bikes and all the riders. By opting for this carcass change, we decided to keep the three compounds that were used during the tests, also confirming the soft, which at first we had thought about changing. We thought this could be the less ‘invasive’ solution for teams and drivers. Given the layout of the track, it will be three asymmetrical tires, harder on the right side “.
Have you thought about any changes to the front tires as well?
“We confirmed both the soft and the medium used in the test, but we will also bring the hard, which was a test solution that Honda and KTM had used. In this case, however, it is symmetrical tires. However, we decided to add also a fourth specification, which also in this case has a construction designed to try to keep the temperature lower. However, it is not a new solution: the teams know it because we had used it at Misano, which is another very demanding on the front, when the asphalt was redone. The compound of this tire will be the same as the average and it must be specified that this is not a back-up solution, because the teams will have it available in their allocation until since the beginning of the weekend “.
After the complaints of the drivers during the tests, the track was resurfaced for most of its length. Did you have any indication of the works?
“Unfortunately not, so it will all be a bit of an unknown factor. It is also for this reason that we decided to use this construction at the rear, because we have no indication of the new asphalt that was built in the section between turn 17 and the curve. 5. Especially when an asphalt is so new like this, which has been done in the last few weeks, there can be factors such as tar and oils, so it will be all to be discovered. The temperature will also have a weight: during the tests the The asphalt touched 56-57 degrees, but if the sun beats down, I think it could even reach 62 degrees. It won’t be an easy weekend. If the new asphalt has good grip, it would be an important help, because the tires would slip less and, consequently, they would suffer less “.
Taking a step back from the Qatar GP, the feeling is that things have gone pretty well on the tire front …
“Lusail is a circuit that is always to be taken a bit with a grain of salt, because there is almost always sand and wind, so it is quite abrasive. Even if we know it well, we always go there with a bit of apprehension, but in the end the weekend it was positive from the point of view of the tires, because the tires we brought satisfied the riders. “
What can you tell us about the previous ones?
“The hard was good for starting FP1, FP3 and Warm-Ups, which were played under the sun and therefore with high temperatures. The soft is the one that was used by most of the riders in the race, but we already knew that he liked it because it was the one they had already chosen last year. But the average also worked well, which went on the podium with Binder. Many riders rejected it regardless of some sort of prejudice, because it is a compound designed to resist wear, so it gives good support, but compared to others it may have a bit less grip. In the end, however, I think it performed well and it will be a compound that we will re-propose both in Argentina and in Texas. “
And of the rear ones?
“The soft was a new tire compared to the 2021 allocation, it performed well and was chosen by almost half of the grid. Right from free practice it was seen that it was able to offer good grip and good stability,” but which also had a fairly high degree of wear, which in any case did not penalize those who chose it for the race. The average, which is the one that won the race with Bastianini, was the one that had been used in the race for the year last and we knew it would suffer less wear. The hard one was discarded, because the grip was much lower than the other two solutions “.
The balance sheet therefore I would say that it is more than positive …
“In general, yes. We brought specifications that were suitable for the conditions and each driver found the ones that matched their needs. Both the fastest lap and race distance records were broken, which was around 10 seconds. faster than last year. From our side, therefore, there was a super performance, although it was not our goal, but which is welcome because it demonstrates the quality of our products despite the reduction of the range of compounds for this season . The riders started with the knife between their teeth and didn’t need to manage, attacking from start to finish. Then the race ended with five marks in the top six: this means that our tires work well with everyone. types of motorcycles and with all riding styles and for us it is the best thing, because in the end we are here to offer the best possible show. he bodes well for the season. I expect an even tighter championship than the previous ones this year. “
The track conditions, which according to the drivers were better than usual, may also have helped you in part …
“That’s true. From day one the track was better than in previous years. From FP2 it was pretty clean and there was good grip. I have to say it was a nice surprise. Usually, in Qatar the front tire is he ruined a lot on the left side in FP1, he suffers a lot from graining. This year, however, this phenomenon did not occur, proving the good conditions of the track “.
The only one who complained a bit after the race was Quartararo, saying that he had tire pressure that had skyrocketed, as had already happened to him at Aragon in 2020 …
“Yes, it is true that Fabio had this difficulty, but it is not something related to the tire itself, as to the starting pressure, which was a little higher than it should. Then the temperature immediately rose while staying in the wake and being aggressive in the first laps to recover. This thing, added to the too high cold pressure, made the bike quite difficult to control. And the comparison that Fabio made with Aragon 2020 is correct, because even in that case it was a wrong evaluation pressure to create problems for him “.
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