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MotoGP, Taramasso confirms new Michelin front tyre for 2024

"In 2023 a new construction for the rear. This is the year of simplification for us, the riders will have fewer tyres to choose from"

MotoGP: Taramasso confirms new Michelin front tyre for 2024

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“For Michelin, 2022 is a year of simplification, if I had to choose a word to define it”. Piero Taramasso, Michelin’s racing manager at Sepang, runs from one pit to the next, listens to the technicians and riders and observes the timesheets with satisfaction. When you go fast, the merit is also due to the tyres and Michelin seems to have found a stability in MotoGP that it does not want to lose.

For this reason, a revolution is not expected this year.

"We will offer the same range as last year but simplified - explains Taramasso - In 2021, between front and rear tyres, we had more than 45 different options, in 2022 only 31. We want it to be easier for the riders to understand the various tyres, we have removed those more selective specifications, which worked on narrower temperature ranges, and we have kept only the most versatile and easiest to use compounds. We think we could have the same performance, but with an easier to interpret range that will allow us to produce and transport fewer tyres, for the benefit of the environment ".

Is this the only innovation?

“No, the riders will have fewer tyres to choose from for the race weekend. In 2021 they had 6 soft, 5 medium and 4 hard at their disposal, this year they will have the same number of soft but 4 medium and 3 hard. In 2023 we would like to remove another one, we are talking about it with the teams and Dorna ".

Is the rear tyre introduced in 2020 no longer a problem?

“By now everyone has digested it, they have figured out how to make it work best. The last to do it was Honda, also because Marquez had his problems. With this casing we are able to use softer compounds, therefore with greater grip, while still having better durability, as we demonstrated last year. This is why we have not changed anything ".

Is evolution still continuing?

"We have a new construction for the rear, which we had the riders test last year in the Barcelona, ​​Misano and Jerez tests. We also brought it here to Sepang and we will try it again a couple of times over the course of the season; if it works, we can introduce it in 2023 ".

What about the new front instead?

"There was a bit of a delay in development for two reasons. The first was the pandemic that did not allow us to do tests, the second is the evolution of the motorcycles. Aerodynamics are becoming more and more important and the riders are trying to adapt by trying to brake harder and later, they have realized that it is in that area that they can gain the most. We have noticed that the loads on the front tyre are increasing more and more and we are working to ensure that the tyre offers more support and at the same time is less sensitive in the draft, so that temperature and pressure do not rise too much. The first prototype will be ready at the end of 2022, to be tested in 2023 and introduced in 2024 ”.

Aerodynamics have not only changed the bikes but also the tyres.

“Yes, the riding style of the riders is now different, favouring braking”.

In these tests we have seen a lot of riders lap below 1’59", what is the reason for this escalation?

"There is no limit, we need to study all the data and anticipate the directions that will be taken. It is a continuous development, race after race, test after test, day after day, without ever losing direction".

This championship, Covid permitting, will have 21 GPs. What does this mean for Michelin?

“Logistically it is very difficult, also because there are so many races in a row, even between Aragon and Japan there will be no breaks. We need to be well organized and anticipate both the production and the shipment of the tyres ”.

Ducati will enter MotoE in 2023, will Michelin also continue with the electric motorcycles?

“We are talking to Dorna, the contract is not signed yet but we could probably make an announcement in the coming weeks. For 2022, we will continue to offer 'green' compounds, with an ever higher percentage of regenerated and natural materials. We will have new compounds that we will try in March and Jerez and, if they go well, we will introduce them already this season ”.

Could this green turning point also involve MotoGP?

“It will not be possible to use exactly the same compounds as the MotoE, but we are working with the same philosophy. Already today, in the MotoGP compounds, we use 20% of regenerated materials, while in MotoE we reach 50% with the aim of reaching 100% in 2030 ".

 

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