MotoGP | Taramasso: “Austin is never homogeneous in terms of grip”

Thanks to the cancellation of the Argentine Grand Prix, MotoGP stopped for two consecutive weekends, but this weekend it is ready to return to the track and make a stop in the United States. As per tradition since 2013, we land in Austin, Texas. The Circuit of the Americas has a very particular layout, with a first part that is very reminiscent of Silverstone and a final part that features several rather slow corners.

Characteristics which, although also adding various altimetric variations, do not make it too demanding from the point of view of the tyres. If anything, it is the rather bumpy and not very homogeneous surface in terms of grip that makes the Texan track a sort of unknown every year, as Michelin manager Piero Taramasso explained to us.

“There are some sections that have been resurfaced, while in others they have 'scraped' the track to try to eliminate the bumps. This is very characteristic of Austin, they do it practically every year, because it is a very bumpy track with many potholes The problem is that in this way it is never homogeneous in terms of grip: in some sections there is a lot of grip, while in others you find much less. If this situation didn't exist, it wouldn't be a very stressful circuit for the tires For us it is a track of medium stress, even if the front suffers a bit in the three consecutive fast right-handers, the 16th, 17th and 18th”, Taramasso told Motorsport.com.

From a weather point of view, what conditions should we expect?
“The forecast doesn't seem bad at all, because it should be dry for the whole weekend, with ambient temperatures around 24-25 degrees. Basically it means having 35 on the asphalt. We can say almost optimal conditions and in line with those we found there 'Last year”.

In light of this, what kind of choices did you make?
“We opted for an allocation similar to that of last year. At the front we have three symmetrical solutions, with last year's soft and hard becoming the soft and medium. We will then introduce a harder solution, which can serve in case the track or the bikes are more aggressive, also because last year at the end of the race they were a bit at the limit with the solution which this year will be the average, which was used by all the riders. at the rear, however, we have the same centering of compounds as last year, with two asymmetric solutions that have the harder shoulder on the right side, knowing that in 2023 they had all used the soft both in the Sprint and in the long race”.

So at the rear do you think this trend will continue this year too?
“I think so, because there is an important performance step between the two compounds, so everyone had tried to do their utmost to make the soft work even in the long race. Considering that the conditions will be quite similar, I expect aligned choices “.

Let's take a step back to the Portuguese Grand Prix, a race won by Jorge Martin and also characterized by Pedro Acosta's first MotoGP podium and the accident between Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez at the end. What information did you collect?
“The whole weekend in Portimao was characterized by the track being very dirty. There was dirt and sand on the asphalt and that didn't help: we never had the track in optimal conditions, even if on Saturday and Sunday it was a little better. Regardless of this, we know that it is a treacherous track, where on paper it is difficult to overtake. Instead we saw two good races, both in the Sprint and in the long one. We witnessed overtaking, crashes, mechanical problems, but the times are were very good and consistent, especially on Sunday.”

In short, you can draw a very positive balance…
“Bastianini set the fastest lap of the race on lap 21 and 12 drivers did their best in the second part of the race. This means that the tires performed very well and this is confirmed by the fact that the race is was 7″ faster than that of 2023. But also because everyone was happy with how they performed, both on Sunday with the hard tire in front and the medium tire in the back, and on Saturday with the hard tire in front and the soft tire in the back. Only Quartararo distanced himself, using the medium also in the Sprint, because he wanted a more stable bike. But he didn't regret his choice, also because it gave him a lot of data in view of the long race.”

Among other things, if the gearbox on Vinales' Aprilia hadn't broken on the last lap, there would have been three different bikes in the first four positions…
“It often happens that there is someone who complains, be it a rider or a manufacturer, but I have to say that everyone was happy in Portimao. But it's also because the tires performed well on all the bikes. Let's hope it's a good thing I hope to continue in this way a season that has started well.”

There was also the first MotoE race of the season…
“Yes, we launched the new rear tyre, which has a very particular new design and which everyone liked. This is also a very positive indication for us.”

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