Motul Grand Prix of Japan 2022 R16

2022-09-21 16:41
Following the race last weekend in Spain, the Michelin Motorsport team is preparing for the second of three consecutive races in the busiest three-weeks of the 2022 MotoGP™ season, as the championship heads to the Mobility Resort Motegi in Japan for the Motul Grand Prix of Japan.

Situated between the towns of Mito and Utsunomiya in the northern Kantō region of the Haga District within the Tochigi Prefecture, the Mobility Resort Motegi is a purpose-built motorsport venue for the whole family including, in addition to the race circuit, a Traffic Education Center, a go-kart track and the impressive Honda Collection Hall.

The first stop-off of four races in the Asia Pacific region, the Motegi circuit is a track that has hard braking areas and big acceleration zones, all on an above average abrasive surface. The layout of the 4,801m circuit features four distinct straights meaning a lot of time is spent on the centre of the tyre, but due to a limited number of fast, flowing corners there is not as much stress placed on the rear tyres than at some other tracks.

The circuit configuration, with its six left-and eight right-hand turns, places specific demands on the front tyre, with good braking stability and fast warm-up being two crucial requirements. Taking these elements into consideration, the MICHELIN Power Slick allocation has been selected to give the optimum performance, durability and consistency for all riders throughout the 24-lap race. The front tyres in Soft, Medium and Hard compounds will all be symmetric, while all of the rears are asymmetric, with a harder right-hand shoulder.

The local area is covered by dense woodland, and this can mean the circuit is susceptible to fog, mist and wet weather. If these conditions prevail then the range of MICHELIN Power Rain tyres will be available. These will be in Soft and Medium compounds for both the front and rear, and like their slick counterparts, the fronts will be symmetric and the rears will be asymmetric.

Speaking about the Motegi race, Piero Taramasso, Michelin Two Wheel Motorsport Manager commented: “This is the first of the four flyaway races and the second of three back-to-back races. Before the pandemic, it was always a demanding time from a logistical perspective, and it will be interesting to see how the track surface has changed since we were last here in 2019, and how the aero and shapeshifter devices that have since been introduced might affect tyre performance here.

“We know Motegi is a track that demands high levels of stability from the front under the hard braking forces generated here, especially into corners such as the ’90-degree Corner’, but the riders also need grip from the rear tyres to get the power down to accelerate out of these slower corners. Our 2022 allocation has compounds and casing designs that we know will meet these requirements and will give the riders the confidence to push themselves and their machines to the limit.”

Due to the travel from Spain to Japan, the Motegi schedule has been adapted to allow the teams more set-up time in the paddock. As a result, FP1 will take place on Friday afternoon, with FP2 and FP3 preceding the two Qualifying sessions on Saturday – there will be no FP4. On Sunday, the 24-lap MotoGP race will start at 15:00 local time.



About Michelin

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 177 countries, has 124,760 employees and operates 68 tire production facilities which together produced around 173 million tires in 2021. (www.michelin.com)

Source: Michelin Motorsport

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