MICHELIN GOES TO AUSTRIA FOR A SPIELBERG DOUBLE-HEADER

Michelin has made the short trip from Czechia into Austria as MotoGP™ sets-up camp for back-to-back races at the Red Bull Ring at Spielberg with firstly the running of the myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich followed seven days later by the inaugural staging of the BMW M Grand Prix von Styria.

The 4,318m circuit is located within the picturesque mountains and forests of the Styrian region, but that is where the calmness ends, as it is one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar for tyres. With just two distinct left turns and a fast left-hand curve, it is the remaining seven right-hand corners which present the huge stresses and heat build-up that the MICHELIN Power Slick tyres will have to contend with. Due to these demanding requirements Michelin has a special rear tyre construction, designed specifically for these conditions. The use of these tyres will mean that the new rear construction, with its improved grip and performance that has been so successful so far this season won’t be used at Spielberg. The tyre designed especially for these situations also gets used at Buriram in Thailand, but due to the changes to this season’s calendar because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the double-header at Spielberg will be its only outing in 2020.

For such a demanding track the MICHELIN Power Slick range – in soft, medium and hard compounds – will have an asymmetric finish on the special rear construction, with a harder right-hand-side ideally suited to manage the high temperatures which can build-up over a lap of this unique track. To complement the rears, the front MICHELIN Power Slick tyres will see the soft, medium and hard compounds in a symmetric finish, with compounds designed to give the riders the turning and stopping power they need and to instil the confidence over the fastest track that MotoGP visits in this, or in a regular season.

Michelin can also expect the possibility of wet weather, as the Red Bull Ring has demonstrated several times since MotoGP returned to the circuit in 2016. With this prospect in mind, the allocation will feature MICHELIN Power Rain tyres in soft and medium compounds. The fronts will have a symmetric finish, whilst the rears will be asymmetric and feature a harder right-hand side like the slick equivalents. For both races the tyre allocation that the riders have at their disposal will be the same for both slick and rain versions.

Michelin and the MotoGP field will take to the track for the first instalment of what promises to be a two-part Spielberg blockbuster on Friday 14th August, for the first two free practice sessions, these will be followed on Saturday by more practice and then the all-important Qualifying. Sunday 16th August will see the 28-lap myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich get underway at 14.00hrs local time (14.00hrs CEST, 13.00hrs BST, 12.00hrs GMT/UST), with the following week’s BMW M Grand Prix von Styria – also over 28 circulations – seeing the same schedule with the lights changing to signal go on Sunday 23rd August.

Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager:

“The races are certainly coming along at a fast rate, as this double-header will make it five races in six weekends since the start of the season, but this one is a little bit different as we have to change the construction of the rear tyre. Spielberg is a very fast and demanding and the tyre builds up a lot of heat, so we use a tyre that can cope with that and give the riders the control from the rear that they need. We have witnessed some exciting races here at Spielberg in the last few years and hope that this season, with two ahead of us, it will be a similar result. We have supplied the tyres that will ensure that the riders have the best grip and performance at their disposal, so now we wait to see what they can produce.”