"Our riders will test at
Jerez after the race," confirmed Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin's director of motorcycle racing. "At Qatar they all used our wider 16-inch front tyre, which has a fatter contact patch for even better corner-entry performance. After Jerez they will be able to test our latest, widest front, because when you increase rear tyre performance you must also improve the front. Our riders will also be able to evaluate the progress we've made with our 16-inch rear."
Although denied victory by Ducati's reigning world champion
Casey Stoner, Michelin was generally regarded as having held the upper hand in the cool night time conditions, in which it swept the front row in qualifying and claimed five of the top seven positions in the race.
"Our tyres performed very well in Qatar, even in low temperatures, which could be important at Jerez because it's still quite early in the year, so the track could be quite cool," added Weber. "On the other hand, conditions could be quite warm, so we will offer a range of tyres that will handle a broad range of temperatures.
"Our Spanish GP tyres will be based on what we learned during the Jerez tests and in Qatar. Our new generation 16.5-inch rear is working well. We introduced this construction at last November's Valencia GP, which Dani won, and since then we've been perfecting the construction and optimising compounds to suit each circuit.
"We have focused on improving warm-up, tyre operation range and overall performance. Everyone knows that corner speed is very important with the 800s - the riders want to open the throttle as soon as possible in the corners, which means grip and traction at maximum lean are the crucial factors. Excellent edge grip is vital at Jerez because the bikes spend so much time at full lean.
