Press Release – Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix
. By Bikeland Staff
Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) used his Medium front and Hard rear MICHELIN Power Slick tyres to great effect to win a thrilling and incident packed Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island. Joining him on the podium in second and third places respectively were Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).
In Qualifying, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) set a new all-time circuit lap record of 1’27.767, beating the previous benchmark which was set by Jorge Lorenzo back in 2013. Marc Marquez also bettered this long-standing record on his Honda, showing the accessible performance of the MICHELIN Power Slick tyres.
Predominantly dry weather throughout the weekend gave the riders plenty of time to work on dry settings and try all of the MICHELIN Power Slicks in the allocation. With this data, tyre choice for the race was split between the Medium and Hard options for the front, and most riders went for the Hard rear.
After two days of heavy rain, weather conditions on Friday started dry but windy, so the riders started exploring the available grip and laying some rubber down from their MICHELIN Power Slicks. The lap times in FP1 were headed by Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) with a time of 1’30.368 – some 2.5seconds off the all-time lap record, which highlighted the lack of grip from the green track surface combined with the windy conditions. Despite a few showers at lunchtime, FP2 was also dry and breezy, but with the sun making an appearance. With the rise in track temperatures and improved track conditions, lap times improved from FP1 with Zarco again topping the timesheets with a lap of 1’29.475 during time-attack at the end of the session.
Saturday was less windy than Friday, and FP3 saw the riders working on settings before fitting new Soft rear tyres and starting to push for direct access to Q2. Leading the pack at the end of the session was Marc Marquez with a lap time of 1’28.462. In Qualifying, the higher track temperatures and calmer weather led to much better lap times, and also the new all-time circuit lap record for Martin.
Commenting after the race, Piero Taramasso, Michelin Two Wheel Motorsport Manager, said: “We know that the conditions here at Phillip Island can be a bit tricky with the wind and cool conditions, but despite this, all of the tyres worked well, and this was particularly the case with the asymmetric fronts which gave the riders the confidence to push in the corners. This tyre performance was also accessible to all riders, with the top 17 places in the hotly contested FP3 session separated by less than seven-tenths of a second. The cherry on the cake was the new circuit lap record by Ducati rider Jorge Martin, and the fact that Marc Marquez also beat the previous record on his Honda.
“The rain during Sunday morning reduced the circuit grip levels slightly, but rider tyre choice was not affected. The track temperature reached 35°C for the start of the race and meant that the Hard was chosen by most riders, and this was the winning tyre. However, it was good to see Marc Marquez fighting for the victory all the way to the chequered flag with a Soft rear tyre – showing the breadth of performance of our entire Phillip Island allocation.”