Michelin’s MotoGP crew goes into action at Assen this Thursday just four days after competing in last Sunday’s British Grand Prix. Saturday’s Dutch TT is the fourth event in just five weekends and marks the halfway stage in this year’s 18-race MotoGP World Championship. Michelin’s current top MotoGP performer is Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) who has scored an impressive two victories and a further five podiums from the first eight races. Pedrosa holds second overall at the moment with five other Michelin riders in the top eight. Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) is fourth overall despite two DNFs, the brilliant rookie followed in the championship table by Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin), Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Team Scot Honda RC212V-Michelin), Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) and James Toseland (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin). Assen is the most historic race on the MotoGP calendar, the only venue surviving from the World Championship’s inaugural year in 1949. Michelin has a great record at the track, winning all but two of the last 22 premier-class GPs staged there. The circuit, which originally featured public roads, has undergone major revisions in recent years, most notably in 2006 when the northern loop was axed, reducing circuit length from 5.997km/3.726 miles to 4.555km/2.500 miles. Assen still retains some of its original character, however, with fast, banked corners its most interesting feature. MICHELIN AND THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGE OF ASSEN “Assen is the most banked track that we go to,” says Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s chief of motorcycle racing. “The banking means extra load for the bike and for the tires, which does increase heat inside the tires, plus Assen is a fast circuit, but the heat isn’t so much, it’s not an extreme circuit for tires. Estoril, for example, is a more extreme track which demands specific tires because there’s such a big difference between the compounds used on the left and right there. Assen requires medium-hard tires because you need stability for the fast corners and traction out of the slower corners. “Apart from the banked surface, Assen’s other main characteristic is its fast, flowing series of corners. One corner leads immediately into the other, so handling and stability are very important, so we use tires that will give the bike good handling and stability. Assen has good grip, it’s also pretty smooth because it isn’t used as much as many other tracks. And, of course, the weather can change a lot, which makes the tire companies’ job extra tough. But we are getting used to changeable weather conditions, the rain seems to be following us wherever we go! “This year our tires have a broader working range, which means we need less different specifications than we needed last year, so we have been able to use more similar tires at most tracks. The broader working range also means we can adapt our tires from one circuit to the next without changing the tires too much. These improvements are very important because when you have a smaller range of tires that work well at different tracks, our riders get to know the tires better, which really helps them. Also, when more of our riders use similar tires it’s better for development because we get better global feedback from the riders.” ASSEN: 4.555km/2.830 miles Lap record: Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin), 1:37.106, 168.867km/h-104.929mph (2006) Pole position 2007: Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki GSV-R), 1:48.555 Recent winners of the Dutch TT 2007 Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha YZR-M1-Michelin), 42:37.149 2006 Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin), 42:27.404 (new track) 2005 Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), 38:41.808 (revised track) 2004 Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), 38:11.831 2003 Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V-Michelin), 42:39.006 (wet race) 2002 Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin), 38:49.425 (new race distance, 19 laps) 2001 Max Biaggi (Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), 30:56.346 (rain stopped race after 15 laps) 2000 Alex Barros (Emerson Honda Pons NSR500-Michelin), 42:46.142 (two-part wet/dry race) 1999 Tadayuki Okada (Repsol Honda NSR500-Michelin), 41:12.732 1998 Mick Doohan (Repsol Honda NSR500-Michelin), 41:17.788 1997 Mick Doohan (Repsol Honda NSR500-Michelin), 43:37.954 1996 Mick Doohan (Repsol Honda NSR500-Michelin), 41:29.912 Michelin’s 2008 MotoGP riders Randy de Puniet (Honda LCR RC212V-Michelin) Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Team Scot Honda RC212V-Michelin) Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin) Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) James Toseland (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin)