VOL. 53 ISSUE 36 SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 P29
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
GOLD
&
GOOSE
MICHELIN FIRST-YEAR REVIEW
M
ichelin's first
year back in
MotoGP came under
fresh scrutiny at San
Marino Grand Prix at
Misano, September
10-11, as the company
addressed complaints
about the weakness
of their front tire with a
revised stiffer carcass.
By and large, though,
the scrutiny was
favorable, with riders
as diverse as Valen-
tino Rossi and Cal
Crutchlow both report-
ing how their earlier
negative opinions had
been modified firstly
by the French company's dedi-
cation to progress and improve-
ment, and secondly because
the range of possible choices
compared with Bridgestone had
added a tactical element and
served to improve the variety
of the racing—a variety proved
by seven different winners in
the last seven races, including
four first-timers: Miller, Iannone,
Crutchlow and Vinales.
Before the race, Rossi
explained how his opinion of
the tires had changed, after his
early-season complaints about
the queasy front and the switch
to harder construction after
failures in preseason testing and
in Argentina. "Sometimes your
reaction is different after half
the championship," commented
Rossi. "Michelin have worked
hard on the front tire, and for a
wider range of tires to suit differ-
ent riders and different bikes."
The new front tire, said Mi-
chelin, was "a small evolution
of the current tire and has been
developed from the tests previ-
ously held at the Italian circuit,"
and was available in both soft
and medium alternatives, with
a hard-option front unchanged
from the previous tires. The
change was a new casing,
intended to improve stability
for braking and corner entry,
both areas that have attracted
criticism. It was generally well
received, but in blazing hot
conditions some riders, includ-
ing hard braker Marc Marquez,
elected to use the old-school
hard option instead in qualify-
ing and in the race, to his cost.
The praise faded somewhat
after qualifying, however, when
many riders had problems with
inconsistent rear tires, includ-
ing all three on the front row.
They were full of apprehension
in case they might get a dud for
the race. Pole-setter Jorge Lo-
renzo said: "It sometimes used
to happen also with Bridges-
tone, but this weekend I had
one or two tires with a big gap in
performance." He'd had similar
problems at Silverstone last
weekend, then in the race a tire
that turned on the rim. CN
The consensus of the MotoGP
riders is that Michelin is doing
okay in its first year back
supplying rubber.
