Michelin rear 'like a qualifying tyre'

Rain at Monday's post-race Brno test prevented Michelin evaluating the latest changes to its 2016 MotoGP slicks.

The Czech outing was the final chance for race riders to try the Michelins before the French company officially takes over from Bridgestone at November's post-season Valencia test.

"Rear construction is almost fixed. Front and the rear profiles are fixed. So just we need to tune the compounds for some race tracks that we didn't test [yet] and we are still working on the front," said Piero Taramasso, Michelin Motorsport's motorbike manager.

"We brought some new solutions for the front here, the same profile with two different casings and three different compounds. For the rear tyres the same profile, two different casings, and two different compounds. This was the plan [before the rain]."

Front tyre development made headlines after big accidents during race-rider tests at Sepang and Mugello - world championship leaders Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez all falling in Italy.

"There have been problems certainly at the Sepang test and also at Mugello tests. The tyres seemed to work well, but there were problems pushing the front," Taramasso confirmed. "I would say it's the balance, about the front and the rear grip."

Michelin's shift of grip towards the rear is the polar opposite of the Bridgestone characteristics. The Japanese brand offers exceptional front grip, a feature the existing machines have been designed to exploit.

"The front seems to be the difficulty at the moment. The rear tyre, the grip is good. It's easy, very good. That's why the performance, the lap time, is more than acceptable I will say," Taramasso said.

While there doesn't seem to be a radical difference in Bridgestone/Michelin lap times (official timing won't be available until Valencia), Taramasso confessed that the contrast in grip balance between the brands has had "a big effect".

That's partly because race riders have been jumping straight across to Michelins after several days perfecting their set-up and riding style for Bridgestones.

"After the test in Valencia I'm sure that the teams will move the setting in the right way towards the Michelin, how our tyres are suited," Taramasso said. "What didn't help is that every time we do a one-day test. So the teams arrive with the bike setting for the current tyre supplier. We have just one day and you cannot do setting, tyre test, long run... it's not the optimum condition."

Nevertheless the front tyre issues are improving, partly as a result of more familiarity with the Michelins.

"Right now it looks like it's going better and better," Taramasso explained. "One reason is because we worked on the tyre, we improved the front tyre from Sepang to Mugello. The official riders told us we made an improvement in the right direction, so that helps.

"Also the teams, now they start to understand how our tyre is working. So every time we test with them the setting is always better and better. The riders also understand how to use it versus different tyre [Bridgestone], so you have to ride differently.

"Everything you put together - the rider, the setting, technology improvements - so everything is going in the right direction. And also the balance, grip front and rear balance is much better."

With only wet or intermediate tyres possible at Brno (when top riders remained in the pits) the most recent slick feedback by grand prix stars came from Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, at Misano, during the summer break.

The benefit of being the second company to take over the exclusive MotoGP tyre supply is that the motorcycle manufacturers have already converged towards similar machine characteristics.

Those may have been based around Bridgestone tyres, but it means that instead of Michelin being pulled in different directions by the five manufacturers, feedback has been broadly similar.

"I was surprised, because I was thinking the choice would go in very different directions, three, four, five [different tyre choices]," Taramasso said. "Actually no, all the time we converge to the same. So this is good for us because the direction is clearer. We know what we have to do.

"I was thinking there would be a Yamaha [tyre] choice, Ducati choice, like this. But the biggest difference we see is in-between the choice by the test riders and official race riders. It's the speed [that creates the difference in feedback]."

No single component of a racing machine has a bigger influence on lap time than tyres, or a better cost/gain ratio. Finding a better set-up for tyres can result in half-a-second a lap. Finding that same half-a-second from engine performance alone, for example, would cost millions.

But what will the Bridgestone to Michelin move mean for the riders, the real stars of MotoGP? Given such a fundamental change to their equipment, it is inevitable that some will benefit more than others.

"I think so. I don't know who, but for sure when you do a major change like this, I'm sure some riders are able to adapt quickly and they can take advantages," Taramasso said. "Some others will need more time. So for sure you will move the actual ranking for sure. And also you have some riders who already run with our tyre [in the past], so maybe come up speed quickly. They have experience how to run, how to use."

The current riders that raced in MotoGP with Michelin before Bridgestone became the exclusive tyre supplier in 2009 are Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden.

However it is Tech 3 Yamaha's Pol Espargaro who has so far emerged as one of the biggest fans of the Michelin tyres. Riders are limited in terms of what they can say due to the existing Bridgestone contract, but at Indianapolis - a week before Brno - the Spaniard declared:

"Actually I am looking forward to test the Michelin again. I had amazing feelings in Malaysia. I feel with them I can ride as I know as I can... If it's a different tyre we can be comfortable with my riding style. We'll see. I'm looking forward to next year to change everything."

Espargaro's comments are no surprise given he has been struggling with rear grip this season, which is the Michelin's standout strength.

"The rear grip is the thing everybody's saying. Especially Pol Espargaro, he smile and say, 'wow, this is impressive'. It's like a qualifying tyre. So this [rear grip] is a very good point," Taramasso confirmed. "I think it's the one [thing] that came up all the time. Consistency also. The tyre can do 25-30 laps without a big drop off.

"For 2016 our priority is to give a safe tyre that works well for Honda, for Yamaha, for Ducati, for Marc Marquez, for Valentino Rossi... This is our goal. Try to make the more usable tyre for all the riders. 2016 will be learning and then for 2017 I'm sure we will put more effort in the performance."

Further steps towards the final 2016 tyre selection - which will "probably" consist of 3-4 front options and 5-6 rears, on the new 17" wheels - will take place with post-race tests for factory development riders at several of the remaining rounds.

The most notable of these will be at the tyre-munching Phillip Island circuit, also part of a revised official winter testing programme alongside Valencia, Sepang and Qatar, in place of the usual second visit to Sepang.

"For us it's good," Taramasso said of the Phillip Island winter test. "I know some teams prefer go twice to the same track, just to evaluate the progress and see if they improved. But this was the proposition from [teams' association] IRTA.

"I think it's because maybe IRTA and Dorna recognise Phillip Island as a very demanding track so they prefer, say okay, let's go there. So for the race we can be ready."

Michelin won 26 500cc/MotoGP titles from 1976-2006, before losing the 2007 and 2008 championships to Bridgestone riders Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi.