Preview – Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragón 2021 R13

2021-09-09 13:16
Following a weekend break after the British Grand Prix, the Michelin Motorsport team and the MotoGP™ paddock are heading to the Teruel province in Spain for the 13th round of the 2021 world championship, the Gran Premio TISSOT de Aragón at Motorland Aragón.

The 5,077m (3.155 miles) anti-clockwise circuit has an interesting and complex layout featuring 10 left- and 7 right-hand corners, along with a longest straight measuring 968m (.601 miles). With a mixture of corners from hairpins to fast flowing turns, the front MICHELIN Power Slicks have been designed to meet these demands and give the riders the confidence they need through the variety of bends. To complement the fronts, the rear slicks have been designed to give high-speed stability and effectively put the power down onto the asphalt, attributes equally important to setting that all-important fast and consistent lap time.

Part of the autonomous community of Aragón, the Teruel province is noted for its harsh climate, with a wide daily variation of temperatures during the day. With its exposed position, Motorland Aragón can experience quite cool temperatures in the mornings, so a range of tyres to cover these fluctuations of temperature is imperative. With all these requirements in mind, the allocation of MICHELIN Power Slicks have been chosen to meet these demands.

The front tyre options in Soft, Medium and Hard compounds will be symmetric, while the three rear options will feature an asymmetric design, with a harder left-hand shoulder to handle the extra stresses from the increased number or corners that go in that direction. Due to the track’s inland location, there is always a possibility of rain, and if this is the case the MICHELIN Power Rain tyres will be available in Soft and Medium compounds for both the front and rear. The front will be symmetric whilst the rears will have an asymmetric design, with a harder left side like their slick counterparts.

Commenting ahead of the Aragón weekend, Piero Taramasso, Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager, said: “Last year at Aragón some of the sessions were delayed due to the very cold temperatures – the asphalt was below 10°C on the Friday morning – so I’m hoping the conditions will be better this year, as this time the race is a bit earlier in the year.

“The circuit layout is quite challenging for our tyre designers because it includes such a mix of corners, from slow and tight to fast and flowing, and the two straights where the speeds of a MotoGP bike are quite high. When you combine all these factors every lap, it places considerable stress on the tyres and we need to be sure that we offer our usual high levels of performance for all of the riders and teams.”

The MotoGP riders will take to the track for the first and second Free Practice sessions on Friday 10 September, with FP3 and FP4 scheduled for Saturday ahead of Qualifying 1 and 2. The riders will then line up on the grid for the 23-lap race at 14:00 local time on Sunday 12 September.



Michelin, the leading mobility company, is dedicated to enhancing its clients’ mobility, sustainably; designing and distributing the most suitable tires, services and solutions for its clients’ needs; providing digital services, maps and guides to help enrich trips and travels and make them unique experiences; and developing high-technology materials that serve a variety of industries. Headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Michelin is present in 170 countries, has 123,600 employees and operates 71 tire production facilities which together produced around 170 million tires in 2020. (www.michelin.com)

Source: Michelin Motorsport

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