Michelin
To StCnt
Te
I
I\,rlichelin
isn't waitin8
around to tlnd out
rYrolorcyale .acin8.
"l+ont
before
we began
I
'
I what it
will need to make tires lor the testinE
the new MotdGP
bikes in 2001
,
we
new-generation 800cc
HotoGP racers,
knew that we
werf looking at a huge
been thinkin8 about 800s
for a while.
we
keep them
in mind even when
we are
working
with the
99G
at the
moni€nt. lf
we think
of
some
oew developfient
that
might be
usefr.tl for dle
990s, but would
take
six months to
ge! right, we don't aon-
tinue
with tha!
development. But if we are
working on sornethinS
that we think will
be
useful for the 80G,
wE obvioiJsly keep
worting in
that direction.
"EveD/one
says
the 80Os will be more
atile than
the 990s, though l'm
not
absolutely
sure about dlat, becar.rse the
bikes will weigh about the same.
True, the
engines should be sli8htly
lighten wfiich
should allow the designers
to
put
the mass
where they
want it, which may nrake
the
bikes sligltly
easier to
handle,
but
it cer-
tainty
won't be a huSe difference,
it won't
be like
toing
back to 13o-kilo
[286
poundsl
500s.
"We
expect the bikes to
produce
a little
bit less horsepower than
the 990s, but
for
how long? One
year,
two
years?
For sure
we won't be
making bigter tires
for the
80G, there
won't be any dramatk
chante
in
p.ofiles.
but I'm not convinced
that w€'ll
be
making smaller tires
for these bikes.
Less horsepower should
put less heat into
the tirei, but
the 800's torque
outplrt could
be
more brutal than
the 990's, so it's diffi-
cult to
predict how they willwear the tires.
lf
the torque
h morc brutal, it could
mean
that
the
predictability
of the tires
will
become morc imponant, but
the fact
is
rhat rhe
latest
elecronics
are so sophisti-
aated that torque delivery
may
not be ,n
issue.
we
will see
when we ttart testin8."
with both Honda
and Yamaha for later this
summer in
lapan.
The move
to 80G ls MotoGP's second
big rechnical
chanee in the last decade,
with
99(kc four-strokes taking over
from
500cc lwo-strokes
in 2002 and now
the
change
from 990s to 80occ four-strokes.
Even though engine capa(ity
is beint
cut by
almost 20
percent,
the
bikes won't
be dramati
