MotoGP: Michelin ‘very focused’ on Argentinian GP

MotoGP sole tyre manufacturer Michelin have admitted that they’re going into this weekend’s Argentinian Grand Prix ‘very focused’ on the job at hand, after the issues that they suffered last year at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.

The French firm were forced to change the entire construction of their tyres last year after an explosive delamination suffered by Scott Redding during Saturday’s free practice session under high track temperatures.

But, despite the issue being resolved in the last twelve months, Two-Wheel Motorsport Group manager Piero Taramasso says that they’re going into the weekend fully prepared for what promises to be a challenging weekend even under normal circumstances.

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“This is one race that everyone at Michelin is very focused on. We learnt many things from the event in Argentina last year and it altered the course of our plans in 2016. The target now is to improve at the tracks where we struggled last season and Termas is one of those, so we will be looking to make big steps there.

“The track is not used very often and we expect it to be quite dirty when we first arrive, so the first session will be more of a cleaning exercise, but after that we expect improvements throughout the weekend – conditions permitting. The asphalt is very abrasive with some very fast and long corners, plus very hard braking zones, all of which is expected to result in one of the highest average speeds of the year, these characteristics put big demands on both the front and rear and the weather can also be very unpredictable in that area at this time of the year.

“This is a race with many variables, but with the knowledge we have gathered, and the evolutions we have made over the last 12 months, we are ready for any eventualities, and the determination from the whole team to do well is as strong as it has ever been.”

However, it might be a case of Michelin not getting much chance to try out their slick tyres anyway, with persistent rain forecast to hit the north-eastern Argentinian circuit for much of the weekend.

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