MICHELIN AND MARQUEZ OVERCOME MIXED CONDITIONS AT BRNO

2019-08-05 21:47
Michelin saw all the riders put their trust in the grip from the MICHELIN Power Slick MotoGP™ tyres this afternoon during the Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky from Brno in the Czech Republic as the whole field started an officially declared wet race on slick tyres.

Heavy rain shortly before the beginning of the race delayed the start to give the track the chance to dry out as no more downpours were forecast, this led to a reduction in race distance to 20-laps from the original 21. When the lights changed to signal the start there were still damp patches on the track, but the 23-strong field all chose to start on slick tyres as it was drying quickly and the grip from the MICHELIN Power Slicks enabled the whole field to feel confident enough to push right from the start. This was exemplified in the early circulations as a number of riders posted fast laps, including Alex Rins (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) as he recorded the fastest lap of the race on the third time around.

Today’s conditions mirrored Saturday’s at the 5,403m Masaryk Circuit, when set-up time for all the riders was severely hampered as heavy rain meant all practice sessions and then the qualifying were all declared wet. This initially led to the MICHELIN Power Rain tyres being put to use and again they showed the grip and performance in the wet which gives the riders the confidence to perform at the highest limit. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) produced a scintillating performance in Qualifying to take pole, the wet track had dried enough for him to change to MICHELIN Power Slick tyres and he pushed hard on his out-lap to get enough heat in the rubber to ensure he could get the drive in the changing conditions. The slicks continue to work in damp conditions – as was again illustrated today – and Marquez showed their full potential as he took first place on the grid for today’s race by over two-and-a-half seconds from his nearest rival. This demonstration of grip from a slick tyre on a damp track is testament to Michelin’s continuing objective to produce tyres which operate in all conditions for all riders and manufacturers.

Marquez put his grid position advantage to good use during the start of the race as he led into the first corner, he continued to consolidate his lead as the race progressed before pulling an unassailable advantage over second-placed man Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team). The reigning World Champion crossed the line to secure his sixth victory of the season and increase his advantage at the top of the championship standings. This was also Marquez’s 50th premier class win, making him only the fourth person in history to achieve such a feat and his 76th in all classes, which also put him into equal fourth in the all-time victory list

Following home Marquez and Dovizioso was Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), with a result that also secured him the position of First Independent Rider, he made his move with two-laps remaining as he reeled in Rins to take the final podium spot. The Suzuki man took fourth, with Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) in fifth. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was sixth and Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) took seventh and strengthened his position at the top of the Rookie of the Year classification. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) was eighth, with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) and Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) securing ninth and tenth respectively.

Michelin will now remain at Brno for an official one-day test on Monday, when it will continue its assessment of new tyres in readiness for the 2020 season, before the whole paddock heads directly to Spielberg in Austria for round 11 of the MotoGP season which will be held on Sunday 11th August.

Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team:

“It has been a crazy weekend and in the qualifying practice we even went out on the slicks in the wet! We started on the wet tyres and then the track started to dry, but not completely, and there was still some rain in the air at the end of the practice, when I was on the slicks. It was difficult to understand the limit of the slicks in the wet, but honestly they worked well, much better than I expected. The race was dry and it was difficult to choose the tyres because we didn’t have a lot of information this weekend, but in the end we decided to go with the rear soft and hard front. The front hard was the best tyre in the allocation for us, but with the rear nobody knew what to expect. I decided to push from the beginning to the end and see what happened. At the end it was very technical as the tyres weren’t really sliding, but you could feel when it did. This was very important because sometimes it’s a really sharp slide, but this one slides and the feeling was there so I was able to understand it. I am very happy and pleased with the work and happy that this weekend we were able to try every tyre, wet, soft, medium, everything!”

Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager:

“This has been a very mixed-up weekend, but it has been one that we have been able to see how all the Michelin tyres work in many different conditions, so for us it has been very useful and we have collected a huge amount of data. On Friday the track was very dirty and didn’t clean-up much in the afternoon, as it usually does on the first day. This caused a lot of sliding and spinning as the teams tried to get the best set-up for the tricky surface. Everybody had a base setting to work on for Saturday, unfortunately the rain stopped them from improving on what they had, but it did give us the chance to see the MICHELIN Power Rain tyres in action. Again, they gave very good grip which gave the riders confidence and led to quick lap-times. Qualifying saw Marc do some fast laps on the slicks on a damp track, fully demonstrating the tyre’s performance on a difficult surface. Today’s race looked like having similar conditions to qualifying, but the first and last corners and the home straight were very wet, so for safety it was the best decision to delay the start. All the riders had already elected to use slicks in those conditions, so when it had dried further it was an even more obvious choice, which proved correct as the rubber performed very well in the mixed conditions at the start and as the track fully dried.

“We now stay at Brno for a day test, before we head to Austria and the Red Bull Ring which is one of the most unique circuits of the year. We take a specially prepared rear tyre there to combat the heat that is built-up on what is the fastest lap of the year, but we are fully prepared for what to expect and hope for an exciting race in which Michelin can play its part.”

Source: Michelin Motorsport

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