MICHELIN IS AUSTRIA BOUND AS EUROPEAN TOUR CONTINUES2019-08-05 21:49Michelin is on the second leg of the latest back-to-back trip and is heading to the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg for the 11th round of the 2019 MotoGP™ World Championship as the myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich takes centre stage. Michelin’s latest challenge on the 11-race European tour, before the flay-away races return to the schedule, sees a date with one of the more unusual tracks on the calendar. Red Bull Ring is a 4,318m strip of asphalt set amongst the picturesque mountains of the Styrian region, but its beautiful location contradicts the demanding nature of the track. The circuit, with just two clear-cut left-hand turns and one very fast left curve, allied to the seven right-hand corners which give a lot of stress to that side of the tyre, all added to four straights and the highest average lap-speed on the calendar, plus a very abrasive track, makes Spielberg one of the biggest challenges for Michelin during the 19-race season. To combat the many detailed and demanding requirements of this track, the MICHELIN Power Slick range – in soft, medium and hard compounds – features a specific rear tyre in the allocation. The asymmetric rubber – with a harder right-hand-side – also has a construction specially designed to manage the high temperatures which can build-up over a lap of this demanding track, as the whole tyre is put under extreme stresses. To complement the rears, the front MICHELIN Power Slick tyres will see the soft, medium and hard compounds in a symmetric finish, all designed to give the riders the turning and stopping control they need at this circuit. Red Bull Ring is located in the mountains, and due to its position it can experience wet weather, if this is one of those occasions then the MICHELIN Power Rain tyres will be available in soft and medium compounds. The fronts will have a symmetric finish, whilst the rear soft will be asymmetric and features a harder right-hand side like its slick equivalents, with the medium version having a symmetric design. This weekend will also see the second staging of the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup. The 18-strong field will race their electric-powered ‘Energica Ego Corsa’ machines around the Red Bull Ring on Sunday, after practice sessions on Friday and the excitement of the E-Pole on Saturday. The MICHELIN Slick MotoE tyres which have been especially developed for these bikes, will be available in a medium front, with a soft rear, both of which will be symmetric. If wet conditions prevail, then symmetric soft front and extra-soft rear MICHELIN Power Rain tyres will be in the allocation. Michelin will head out onto the Red Bull Ring on Friday for two Free Practice sessions, followed by further practices and Qualifying on the Saturday. Round 11 is scheduled to get underway at 14.00hrs local time (14.00hrs CEST, 13.00hrs BST, 12.00hrs GMT/UST) on Sunday 11th August, with the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup race starting at 10.00hrs local time (10.00hrs CEST, 09.00hrs BST, 08.00hrs GMT/UST). Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager: “Spielberg really is a unique track, both from a location and layout point of view. It is one of only two tracks that we need to bring a specially constructed rear tyre to – the other being Buriram in Thailand – because due to all the straights the rear can build-up extreme temperatures, so this construction is designed to control the heat. The surface is also very abrasive, but we have the compounds to perform and give good consistency throughout the whole race and a selection of front compounds which will give the riders the control they need in the braking areas. This will also be the second weekend that we have had MotoE, after its debut at Sachsenring last month. Again we will supply just one compound of tyre for the front and rear and it will be very interesting to see how the bikes perform here at the fastest MotoGP track of the year.” Source: Michelin Motorsport Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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