Michelin defends itself against criticism, especially virulent, launched from Honda and, to a lesser extent, Suzuki , for the unexpected change of tires at the Indonesian Grand Prix , held last weekend.
The sole supplier of tires for MotoGP made the decision to send a range of tires with a different carcass than the one used this season, rescuing a construction that was used at the 2018 Austrian GP.
This change affected the operation of some prototypes, so while Honda and Suzuki saw how their performance worsened compared to the tests, held in Indonesia in February, and the first Grand Prix of the course, in Qatar , other bikes, such as the Yamaha, performed better. .
“I just want to clarify, because I have heard about tires from four or five years ago, which is not the case: it was a type of construction that we had used before, but the compounds were the same as in the test”, explains Piero Taramasso , the person in charge of Michelin in the races.
A change that was brought about by the high temperatures that the championship found on the island of Lombok.
“After the February tests, it was clear that the stock tires would not be able to complete the race, because the temperatures were very high and they would not last 27 laps. It is a very stressful circuit for both the front and rear tires due to a mixture of high speeds, new pavement and very high asphalt temperatures, approaching or exceeding 60 degrees”, comments the Italian.
Under this premise, Michelin concluded that a change in the compound (rubber) was not the solution, and that the construction of the tire should be changed.
“The only possible option was to change the pattern of the casing, because changing the compounds would not have been enough to lower the temperature by 15-20 degrees. So we introduced this type of casing for high temperatures, and confirmed the same compounds that the pilots had in the tests. Anyway, the carcass had already been used in 2017 and 2018, so the teams already knew the characteristics”, explains Taramasso.
Despite ensuring that the same compounds have been maintained, the change in the central rigid part of the tire caused the behavior of the bikes to also vary.
Piero Taramasso, Michelin
“It is logical that it is a different tire than the one we had brought to the tests, because it offers a little less grip, but also a little more stability. In the end, the performance was the same as in February, because the pole time by Fabio Quartararo was the same as in the third test”, he argues, forgetting that Pol Espargaró managed to lap 1.31.060 in the test, while the fastest time for a Honda in the entire Grand Prix weekend was the 1.31.830 for Marc Márquez in Q1, one thousandth faster than Pol himself, without any Honda making it to Q2.
“Logically, when the characteristics change, to achieve the same performance you have to work on the bike, on the suspensions, on the electronics and adapt the driving style””, Taramasso shakes Honda.
“It’s not just the tyres, there are many elements that lead to good performance. Nowadays, unfortunately, there are no tires that you can put on and be in front without touching anything in terms of set-up. A lot of people think that’s the case, but unfortunately it is not like that. You have to work hard to achieve it. The proof is that those who have done it have come out ahead”.
Despite the fact that publicly, some pilots, or even the Honda team manager, Alberto Puig , complained about the change of housing, Michelin assures that they did not receive any negative comments.
“Honestly, not a single person from the technical staff has come to complain, those who really know the data and the characteristics were aware of the situation even before coming to the race and did not complain. Then there is a small minority of people who they did complain, but they probably didn’t understand the technical options or weren’t present for the tests,” he says.
Finally, the person in charge of Michelin in MotoGP, warns that they will change the casing of the tires whenever they deem it appropriate.
“Currently we have four shell models (two front and two rear) in our range, two standard and two designed to withstand high temperatures. And we will use these two when we feel that it is essential to offer more safety to riders, because for us safety is above performance”, ditch Taramasso.
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