After returning to the track at Silverstone, the MotoGP is ready to tackle its second summer round, the Austrian Grand Prix. The Red Bull Ring appointment is now a great classic in the month of August, on a circuit that last year was renewed as regards the layout of the bikes, introducing a chicane after turn 1 to avoid repeating accidents like the terrible one that involved Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco in 2020.
The ups and downs in Austria are one of the fastest circuits in the World Championship and it is no coincidence that Ducati often came out on top. But it is also a rather demanding test for the tyres, as Michelin manager Piero Taramasso confirmed to us when presenting the tenth round of the 2023 calendar.
“The Red Bull Ring is a particular circuit and so can the weather conditions, with cold in the morning and extreme heat in the afternoon. There are long straights and violent braking and this puts a lot of stress on both the front and rear tyres. Among other things, oversized discs are used, which make braking even more powerful, increasing the load on the front,” Taramasso told Motorsport.com.
“On the other hand, accelerations generate load and temperature at the rear. This is why it’s one of those circuits where we use a different construction, a little stiffer to better withstand high temperatures. It’s the same problem we also have in Indonesia and in Thailand. However, it is a casing that has been used several times in the past, so it is different to all the other circuits, but it is nothing new for the teams and the riders, who know how to handle it,” he added.
In light of all this, what kind of choices have you made for this weekend?
“The specifications that we will bring are the same as last year, both on the front and on the rear. The front three are symmetrical and are the soft, medium and hard that had already been used in 2022. On the rear, however, we confirmed the the soft and the medium, which are the two solutions that had been chosen by the majority. There was also the hard, but no one had ridden it, so it was easy to choose which compound to eliminate. Both solutions are asymmetrical, with the shoulder stiffer right, and are built on the high temperature construction we have already mentioned.Last year saw the introduction of the chicane, which reduced the average lap speed, with times slower by about 5-6 seconds, but our tires had performed well, so we decided to re-propose the same ones”.
Piero Taramasso, Michelin
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
With the same solutions, one can already guess which will be the most used this weekend…
“Last year most of the riders had used the hard front and the medium rear in the race. In the Sprint, however, I think we will see many riders use the soft at the rear. Indeed, it could also be an option for the front in the race short, because last year some riders used it, but among these there were three who slipped into the top 5. It is also true, however, that last year it was very cool, there were only 24- 25 degrees on the asphalt, while the heat wave that is sweeping across Europe is also forecast for this weekend in Austria, so it will be important to manage the temperature of the tires both front and rear. there is also a lot to talk about front locks, because they brake so hard that the front wheel tends to lock. Clearly, the harder the compound, the more this phenomenon is amplified, while it fades when passing on a softer compound. Then it is obvious that the compound dura offers more support and stability when coming off hard. Both options have pros and cons, so teams and riders have to be good at finding the solution that best suits their needs.”
Let’s take a step back to Silverstone, where the second part of the season began with Aprilia’s return to victory. The weekend of the British Grand Prix was made treacherous above all by the climatic conditions…
“The whole weekend was characterized by cold. It was dry on Friday, wet on Saturday and mixed conditions on Sunday, with a dry track but a few drops of rain, but the low temperatures were a constant. In the Sprint everyone raced with a pair of medium rain tires and they performed well, but that’s no surprise because our products have always done this in the wet.Sunday, despite the teams only having one day to work, they had good set-ups As for the choices, almost everyone used the medium tire on the rear, because it guaranteed more stability and also good grip once the tire was up to temperature. Furthermore, it was the most constant solution. Only Zarco and Bastianini did the long race with the soft and in any case Johann was happy with his choice, which allowed him to do well at the start. At the front, however, everyone raced with the soft, but it’s a choice that was a bit forced due to the low temperatures, since it was a solution that offered more feeling and more grip when the bike is at the lean angle. Only Binder used the average and in his case it worked well as he finished the race on the podium. Let’s say that, despite the drops of rain that slowed down the pace a bit, there weren’t any particular problems”.
Did you find something anomalous on the tires with which the Sprint Bagnaia raced? Even without saying it directly, Ducati let it be understood that that was the problem that had caused him to finish 14th…
“Obviously we checked and everything was fine in terms of pressures and temperatures. They were new tyres, which had never been preheated or fitted on other occasions. Undoubtedly something strange happened, but we didn’t notice anything unusual and we will continue to analyze the matter. As soon as Pecco returned, he immediately told us that he thought it was a question of the tyres, because they hadn’t changed anything on the bike in terms of settings. For the moment, it remains a mystery, because nothing has emerged from our initial analyzes In any case, in Austria we will speak again with the Ducati engineers to understand if they may have found some answers in the meantime”.
At Silverstone, the penalties linked to the measurement of tire pressure were introduced, for the moment checked on a sample basis. How did the first experiment go?
“The checks have been carried out, but have not been made official, because the Sprint ran in the wet and in these conditions the pressure protocol does not apply. The same goes for Sunday’s long race, because the white flag was waved for the arrival of the rain and this situation also falls within that category. Also because the drivers are forced to slow down and this inevitably lowers pressures and temperatures, so you can’t ask to respect standard values. Furthermore, with the times rising , the tires are subject to less stress, so there isn’t a dangerous situation to avoid.Despite this, we did a sample check test and I must say it went well: not only did everyone respect the pressures, but also the transmission of the values to the Race Direction worked very well.Now we will do the same thing again in Austria, but I think this season we will be able to have the automatic system 100% operational. I think soon too.”
Michelin tyres
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
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