MICHELIN MANOEUVRES TOWARDS THE MAJESTY OF MUGELLO
Michelin makes its first visit to Italy in 2018 as the MotoGP™ World Championship heads to the stunning setting of Mugello for round six of the season and the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley.
Mugello is one of the most spectacular and complex circuits on the calendar. Its six left and nine right corners are a fascinating mix of quick turns, sweeping curves and slow bends, all interlinked with elevation changes and an incredibly fast straight where riders reach speeds in excess of 350km/h. The MICHELIN Power Slick tyres have to combat these demands as well as heavy-braking sections and off-camber areas, all of which put particular stresses on the rubber and construction of the tyre, with these requirements Michelin has a range of tyres that are designed to work for all riders, styles and manufacturers.
Michelin’s tyres to cope with the requirements of the 5,245m Mugello circuit are soft, medium and hard compounds for both the front and rear and will be ideally matched to manage the vigorous work-out that all tyres will need to undertake at the Italian Grand Prix. The front Michelin Power Slicks will all be symmetrical in design, as will the rear soft, whilst the medium and hard rears will have a harder right hand shoulder designed to give an increased all-round performance which that side of the tyre needs due to the extra turns in that direction.
Mugello holds a special place in the hearts of many, its dramatic position in the Tuscan countryside, just over 30km north-east of Florence, provides an incredible backdrop for one of the most beautiful racetracks in the world. The mountainous hills of Tuscany loom over the track like some kind of stone spectators, but these rocky formations can also bring wet weather to the track and Michelin will have the MICHELIN Power Rain tyres in soft and medium compounds for the front and rear available should any precipitation arrive. The two rear rain tyres will have an asymmetric design, featuring a hard right shoulder, with both of the fronts symmetric.
Mugello is one of the most eagerly awaited events on the calendar and always sees a colourful and vibrant crowd fill the hillsides, with spectators arriving from Thursday onwards to claim their coveted viewing spots, meaning many fans will be there when round six of this season’s championship gets underway on Friday 1st June, as Michelin and the whole MotoGP field takes to the track for two Free Practice sessions. Qualifying for Sunday’s 23-lap race will take place on Saturday afternoon and will decide the grid positions for the main event, which is scheduled to get underway at 14.00hrs local time (13.00hrs BST, 12.00hrsGMT/UST) and will undoubtedly feature the vibrant spectacle of the after-race circuit invasion, as thousands of fans run on to the track and head towards pit-lane to join in the post-race podium celebrations.
Piero Taramasso – Manager of the Two-Wheel Motorsport Group:
“After the excitement of Michelin’s home GP, we now head to a track that has its own special place in people’s minds, but is a very complex and demanding one for Michelin. The tyres need to work very hard through the variations of corners and then give good stability under heavy braking, as well as impressive drive and high-speed performance on the long straight. We had to take all these factors into consideration when we chose the compounds for the allocation earlier this year and with so many factors this was one of the most difficult tracks to plan so far ahead for. We had a test at Mugello just before Le Mans and that confirmed a few things, we also had some very fast unofficial lap-times, so it would be good if those could be replicated when we go there for the race weekend.”