MICHELIN Power Slick and Power Rain families of tyres defy the bumps and variations in asphalt of the Circuit of the Americas
• Third round of the MotoGP™ World Championship for the new MICHELIN Power Slick rubber compounds.
• COTA (Circuit of The Americas) presents a particular, selective and bumpy circuit on which the riders race in an anti-clockwise direction.
• Michelin has selected tyres that are reinforced on the right shoulder in order to compensate for the stresses exerted by a sequence of three particularly demanding turns.
COTA (Circuit of The Americas) has a capacity of 120,000 spectators and was built in the early 2010s on the territory of the town of Elroy (Travis County), near Austin, the capital of Texas. It has a length of 5.513 km, with 20 turns (9 right-handers and 11 left), and fairly significant elevation changes of close to 40 m, including an impressive uphill run to the first turn! The other highlights are its long straight of more than 1,200 m, where MotoGP bikes exceed 350 km/h, and also its 49 m high Cobra-shaped tower inside turn 17. The MotoGP World Championship has visited COTA annually since 2013, and once again it constitutes the third round of the season, following two very competitive races on the circuits of Lusail (Qatar) and Portimão (Portugal).
This circuit in the south of the United States also has some characteristics which directly impact the tyres, starting with the lack of grip on the asphalt. There is also the bumpy nature of the track to take into consideration, due to it being built on ground which is subject to deformation over time. The circuit’s technical services are well aware of this phenomenon and occasionally carry out planing operations. However, if the surface of the tarmac then becomes a little flatter, it is also more ribbed, which generates changes in grip levels in these modified areas. Fortunately, for all these conditions Michelin has tyres that will adapt, and will be able to offer, as always, a good level of performance as well as a feeling of confidence to its partners.
“We know the COTA circuit very well, but we are bringing our new rubber compounds this year, which creates some unknowns,” underlines Piero Taramasso, manager of Michelin Two-Wheel competition. “On the other hand, we know that the grip will be low, and that its surface will be uneven in places. Based on our data and taking into account the configuration of the circuit, we selected symmetrical tyres for the front, in three compounds (Soft, Medium, Hard) and two asymmetrical options for the rear, in Soft and Medium. The right shoulder of the rear tyres will be harder, but this is not to compensate for the number of turns, but rather for the sequence of the triple right-handers (turns 16, 17 and 18) which generates very high stresses on the tyres. We intend to provide the perfect technical package to our partners, who broke numerous records on this track last year and who of course intend to try to do better this year, partly thanks to our tyres.”
In Austin, the weather is generally dry and the temperature reaches an average of 25°C during the day. However, Michelin will also bring its MICHELIN Power Rain range, in case of rain. This consists of symmetrical Soft and Medium tyres for the front, as well as asymmetrical Soft and Medium options for the rear, with a harder right side.
Race weekend schedule
On Friday, the first MotoGP free practice sessions will take place during a 45-minute session late in the morning. Then, the second session, this time of one hour in the afternoon, will allow the 10 fastest riders to directly access the second phase of qualifying, the next day.
Saturday will start with 30 minutes of free practice, then the first qualifying session (15 min) will allow the two fastest to join the 10 riders already qualified in Q2. This final session (also 15 minutes) will determine the order on the starting grid for the entire weekend.
The start of the 10-lap Sprint race will be at 3 p.m. on Saturday, and the start of the 20-lap Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday, at 2 p.m. local.
Records set in 2023
All time circuit lap record: 2’01.892, by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).
Race lap record: 2’03.126, by Alex Rins (LCR Honda), winner of the 2023 Grand Prix.
Race duration record: 41’14.649.
About Michelin
Michelin’s ambition is to sustainably improve its customers’ mobility. The leader in the mobility sector, Michelin designs, manufactures, and distributes the tires best suited to their requirements and uses as well as services and solutions to improve transport efficacy. Michelin also puts forward offers that allow its customers to enjoy unique moments when traveling. Michelin also develops high-technology equipment intended for multiple fields. Based in Clermont-Ferrand, Michelin is present in 175 countries, employs 132,200 people and operates 67 tire factories that, together, produced approximately 167 million tires in 2022. (www.michelin.com).
