MICHELIN LOOKING FORWARD TO FIRST 800 BATTLE This long-awaited first 800cc MotoGP race follows a grueling winter of research and development during which Michelin engineers have dedicated themselves to creating the best tires for the new 800cc machines. The 800s have quite different characteristics to the 990s they replace. They aren’t lighter but they are more nimble, allowing them to enter corners faster and maintain higher corner speeds, so even though the 800s are slightly slower on the straights they are often faster over a full lap. Michelin’s main focus of development is to help the 800s take full advantage of these qualities. The company’s new 16-inch front slick replaces last year’s 16.5-inch tire to offer less inertia for lighter handling, so riders can flick the bike onto its side even quicker, and a larger footprint to give riders more grip and confidence in attacking corners. Michelin’s latest 16.5-inch rear slick has been developed to deliver even more edge grip, allowing riders to exploit the 800s’ stunning cornering ability. Although the 800s will race for the first time at Losail on March 10, the traditional preseason qualifying session took place last month at Jerez, where Michelin riders proved the effectiveness of their 2007 tires by filling the top four places; Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha YZR-M1-Michelin) ahead of Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC212V-Michelin), Colin Edwards (Fiat Yamaha YZR-M1-Michelin) and reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC212V-Michelin). MICHELIN & THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGE OF QATAR Michelin has won all three MotoGP races staged at Qatar and had a successful preseason test at the track on February 13-15. The circuit was constructed in 2004 and is characterized by a series of interflowing corners that place a lot of emphasis on agility and corner-entry performance. “Qatar is going to be very interesting and we are expecting a nice battle,” says Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing Jean-Philippe Weber. “I think the difference in performance between the various 800s isn’t as big as it was with the 990s, so the racing could be very close. Also, with these bikes you need to be more aggressive to overtake, so I think it will be a very exciting race. We are really looking forward to it because we have tested a lot of tires and done a lot of development, and now it’s time to start racing. “We got a lot of good information during last month’s Qatar tests. Obviously, it’s very useful to test at a track quite close to the race and our riders’ lap times were quite fast. Dani was quick on qualifiers and also did a very good long run, plus the Yamahas also performed well, so we are quite confident for this first race with the 800s. “As always at Qatar, the problem is that we don’t know whether our work will be disturbed by sand. If it’s windy then sand gets blown onto the track surface, reducing grip and working against the tires like sandpaper. Even if we have two good days of practice we can’t be sure that track conditions won’t change on race day, so we need to have tires to face this problem. Also, the conditions will be warmer than they were during last month’s tests.” There is one other big change in MotoGP this year, apart from the introduction of the 800s. All Michelin riders are now limited to 31 slicks (14 fronts/17 rears) per race weekend. All slicks are bar-coded and logged with Grand Prix Technical director on the evening before practice starts and are controlled by pit-lane scrutineers equipped with barcode scanners. “We have had to do a lot of work to get ready for this new system, adapting our way of working to be best prepared,” says Weber. “Now we are ready.” THE NEW TIRE & TESTING RULES ­ WHAT THEY MEAN * All tires must be registered with race organization on the day before official practice begins at each GP. So tires cannot be manufactured by tire companies during GP weekends and taken to the track. * Riders are limited to 14 front tires and 17 rear tires per event. This does not include rain tires and other treaded tires. And tire manufacturers who haven’t won at least two MotoGP races since the start of 2005 are not subject to this limit. * During the racing season testing is limited to the three days succeeding a GP, at the track where the GP took place. Manufacturers may nominate one GP circuit where they can test at any time during the season, but they may not use current MotoGP riders during these tests. * Winter testing is limited to eight three-day official test sessions. Manufacturers may also nominate one GP circuit where they can test at other times during the winter, though not during the six-week testing moratorium, commencing December 1. No rider may participate in more than eight winter tests. MICHELIN IN QATAR Michelin tires are distributed in Qatar by Ebrahim Khalil Kanoo, a long-established Bahrain-based company with extensive automotive interests. The techno-commercial support from Michelin is covered by one technical commercial manager who shuttles between the nations of Qatar and Bahrain. TRACK DATA Losail: 5.380km/3.344 miles Lap record: Valentino Rossi (Camel Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), 1:57.305, 165.108kmh/102.593mph (2006 – Lap 3) Pole position 2006: Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V-Michelin), 1:55.683, 167.423km/h/104.054mph Recent winners of the Qatar GP 2006 Valentino Rossi (Camel Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), 43:22.229 2005 Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), 43:33.759 2004 Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V-Michelin), 44:01.741 (first race at track) Michelin’s 2007 MotoGP riders Carlos Checa (Honda LCR RC212V-Michelin) Colin Edwards (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC212V-Michelin) Jeremy McWilliams (Ilmor X3-Michelin) Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V-Michelin) Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC212V-Michelin) Andrew Pitt (Ilmor X3-Michelin) Kenny Roberts Junior (Team Roberts KR212V-Michelin) Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin)