Michelin Gears Up with Enhanced Tyres to Confront Phillip Island’s New Challenge at the 2024 Australian MotoGP

Unveiled: Michelin's strategy for managing the revamped Phillip Island circuit at the 2024 Australian MotoGP includes an increased selection of tyres and enhanced tyre structure.

This weekend's Australian MotoGP is drawing significant attention to Michelin, as Bridgestone, Dunlop, and Pirelli were all significantly unprepared for the recent resurfacing at Phillip Island.

The most recent repaving of Phillip Island, which occurred before the 2013 Grand Prix, necessitated a reduction in race length and an obligatory pit stop because the Bridgestone tires were prone to overheating.

The Moto2 and Moto3 categories experienced abbreviated grand prix events because their Dunlop tires encountered comparable problems.

The recent repaving for the 2024 season surprised Pirelli at the WorldSBK season's first event in February, leading to the need for shorter races and a compulsory pit stop to guarantee the safety of the tyres.

This weekend, Michelin steps into the spotlight to tackle the fresh pavement at the Australian Grand Prix.

Similar to the situation in Aragon, the French team lacks information on the newly laid tarmac for MotoGP.

Consequently, Michelin plans to expand its selection of rear tyres by providing three choices, rather than the standard two, including medium and hard options that come with a durable, heat-resistant build.

"Piero Taramasso, the Two-Wheel Manager at Michelin Motorsport, expressed his excitement to explore the characteristics of the newly laid asphalt on Phillip Island. He noted that since they were unable to conduct any preliminary tests, they plan to bring a larger selection of tyres to compensate."

"For the upcoming season, the tire selection for the front remains unchanged from 2023, featuring the Soft, Medium, and Hard options. However, for the rear tires, we're expanding the choices for our collaborators, providing three alternatives as opposed to the standard two."

"We're opting for the Soft compound that maintains its standard internal composition, alongside two tyres featuring Medium and Hard compounds. These latter options are enhanced with a strengthened build, a design we previously introduced in late September at Mandalika, Indonesia."

"This choice was determined by the layout of the track and the limitations imposed on the tires."

Similar to what is observed at Sachsenring and Valencia, the front and rear tires feature an asymmetric design, having added strength on their left side.

The Australian MotoGP from the previous year had its main race rescheduled to Saturday afternoon, replacing the Sprint, because of the anticipation of severe weather conditions on Sunday.

As anticipated, the storm made its appearance following the preliminary conditions, leading to the cancellation of the rearranged Sprint.

In the meantime, Pirelli can leverage its expertise from WorldSBK and WSS for the upcoming weekend's Moto2 and Moto3 tire selection.

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