MotoGP, Rabat tests the Michelin rain tyres in 'artificial rain'

Some very special Michelin-arranged tests took place at Valencia yesterday, with Tito Rabat taking to the track. The French tyre manufacturer needed to test its rain tyres and to do so it had to artificially wet the track, a practice used in F1 but a first for MotoGP.

As you can see in the photo above (published on Twitter by the Marc VDS team), Michelin used water tankers to flood the track and simulate the wet conditions needed to complete its test programme.

It was definitely a big effort, and one that Tito Rabat benefited from  Michelin didn't reveal a great deal about the tests, but a spokesman said: “the tests went very well and important data on the rain tyres has been collated. It was a well organised test and operations to wet the track were a success”.

Who knows if this was a one-off or if similar tests may be carried out again in the future.