Michelin MotoGP Mag #4

MAG
o t oGP
michelin Moto
TM
#4
marquez
«über alles*»
*Márquez on top of the world
Editorial
Having had to contend with rain in practice in Argentina and
a very wet race day at Assen, the MotoGP field once again
found itself battling the elements around Germany’s tight
and twisty Sachsenring. Conditions like this – particularly
when the track is drying towards the end of a race – pose a
real challenge for riders, their engineers and also Michelin’s
technicians. Indeed, lap times tend to vary wildly depending
upon bike set-up – which is liable to change during the
course of the race – riding style and a rider’s confidence and
feeling, which are paramount factors in such situations. That
was clearly no issue for Marc Márquez and Honda, however,
as the Spaniard consummately overcame all the obstacles in
front of him to speed clear of his pursuers...
Contents
4 - Stoner back in the saddle
5 - From Sepang to the Red Bull Ring
6/7 - Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland
8/9 - Austria and CZECH REPUBLIC
10 - Emotion
11 - Profile: Cédric Garde
12/13 - Nicolas Goubert says...
14 - In Loris Baz’s pit garage at the Sachsenring
15 - Expert’s corner
NEWS
It had been four years since Casey Stoner
had last taken to the circuit on a MotoGP
bike in Europe, and five years since his
previous on-track appearance at Misano
in Italy. Invited by Ducati and Michelin
to get back in the saddle aboard the
Desmosedici GP, the Australian did
not need asking twice. “It was fun to
return to a track like that, which is fairly
representative of about 80 per cent of
the circuits on the MotoGP calendar. We
were essentially able to work through
everything we had planned for the twoday test, and it was extremely positive.
We found some interesting directions
to pursue with the bike, in terms of its
chassis and electronics, as well as the
tyres that we had for the session.” Just
as we had witnessed in Malaysia back
at the beginning of the year, Stoner has
clearly lost none of his talent. Might that
tempt him to re-join the fray at some
stage as a ‘wildcard’? That is, indeed, the
million-dollar question, and one that the
two-time premier class world champion
has consistently skirted. “To run four
consecutive laps at a good rhythm is
one thing, but to complete a full race
distance at the same pace is something
else altogether,” is all the 30-year-old will
give away for now.
Stoner back in the saddle
NEWS
Even with the summer break
approaching apace, there was no
let-up for the hard-working MotoGP
family, with two test sessions organised
in preparation for the second half of
the season – one in Malaysia at the
beginning of July, followed by another
in Austria in the immediate wake of
the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland.
At Sepang, Colin Edwards, Michele
Pirro and Cal Crutchlow were eager to
evaluate the resurfaced circuit that in
October will stage the penultimate race
of the 2016 campaign. They concluded
that whilst the new asphalt provides
excellent grip, it suffers from visibly
poor draining at base-course level. “It
rained heavily the night before the test
began, and the water came up through
the track surface as if a tap had been
planted in the middle of the circuit,”
revealed Edwards. “The conditions
were far from ideal...» Be that as it
may, the three riders in attendance
were nonetheless able to assess nine
different front tyres and five rears. On
July 19-20, the entire premier class field
– barring Repsol Honda and Tech 3 –
headed on a journey of discovery to
the Red Bull Ring, which in August will
play host to the first Motorrad Grand
Prix von Österreich since 1997.
From Sepang to the Red Bull Ring
FLASHBACK
Germany
Márquez strengthens
his grip on the standings
By clinching his third victory of the season in Germany,
Marc Márquez continued to stretch his legs in the MotoGP title standings.
The result marked the Spaniard’s seventh Sachsenring success,
and his fourth there in the premier class.
Midway through the 2016 campaign, Marc
Márquez sits 48 points ahead of Jorge Lorenzo
in the overall standings and 59 clear of Valentino
Rossi – but he clearly has no intention of easing
off the gas over the summer break. «I’ll still be
training hard and getting out on a bike to ensure
I’m fighting fit and ready to go when the season
resumes,» insists the two-time MotoGP World
Champion. «There is still a long way to go and this
title battle is far from over yet. I remember how
in 2014 I had what might have been considered
a comfortable lead, and then had two disastrous
races in September at Misano and Aragón that
cost me a lot of points, so I’ve learned my lesson
from that.» At the Sachsenring, the Honda rider
offered further evidence as to just how much he
has matured over the past 12 months. «Whilst I
might not have always been the quickest over
the first half of this season, I have been the most
consistent. I have come to appreciate that you do
not become world champion by trying to win at
all costs, and that sometimes you have to settle
for second or third place. Thanks to this more
sensible approach, I have only really made one
mistake – at Le Mans. That aside, I have finished
on the podium every time.» On three of those
occasions, he has ascended the highest step...
The Spaniard’s rivals have exhibited far from
the same level of consistency. After crashing
out of the Dutch TT, Valentino Rossi knew he
needed to react fast but he proved powerless to
prevent Márquez’s charge. As in Argentina, after
changing bikes mid-race in Germany, the Italian
was unable to rediscover his earlier rhythm. His
uncharacteristically downbeat performance
could not even be blamed upon a late pit-stop,
since Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso
similarly made the switch on Lap 23 and went on
to claim rostrum finishes, whereas Rossi took the
chequered flag down in eighth. Lorenzo, for his
part, was never a factor in the Motorrad Grand
Prix Deutschland. After suffering an accident on
Friday morning during the opening free practice
session, the three-time world champion had to
participate in Q1 for the first time in his career
as he fell twice more in qualifying and despite
giving his all in the race, he could ultimately
manage no better than 15th place.
Cal Crutchlow (Honda LCR) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) were the
two other heroes of the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland
FLASHBACK
Red Bull Ring and Brno
Summer surprises
The key talking points of MotoGP’s two mid-summer races were indisputably the maiden
premier class triumphs for Andrea Iannone and Cal Crutchlow. Following Jack Miller’s
breakthrough in the Dutch TT at the end of June, these latest successes extend to six the
list of riders who have won at least one grand prix this season – for the first time in a good
many years...
Prior to the Red Bull Ring, Ducati’s
latest MotoGP victory had come back
in 2010, with no one-two finish for the
manufacturer since 2007...
In Austria, the team and its riders had
every reason to feel proud of their
achievement.
After winding up the opening half of the 2016
MotoGP campaign with a brilliant victory
in Germany, Marc Márquez reprised the
outstanding consistency that has been a
hallmark of his title challenge season-long
as part two revved into life. In Austria, the
championship leader elected not to push
his luck up against the factory Ducati teammates, who were untouchable around the fast
Red Bull Ring. After fending off the Yamahas
of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi for a
while, the Honda rider wisely settled for a
safe fifth place and 11 valuable points. In
the Czech Republic, the Spaniard stole the
limelight in qualifying by setting a new lap
record en route to his fifth pole of the year.
With rain upsetting the applecart on race day,
Márquez subsequently produced a mature
performance after making the decision to
start on soft-compound wet-weather rubber.
Taking care to look after his tyres in the
early stages while the Ducatis once more
scampered away at the front, the 23-yearold judiciously managed their degradation
as a dry line rapidly emerged – albeit not
quite quickly enough to enable competitors
to change bikes and finish the race on slicks.
Márquez’s final act was to overhaul Loris
Baz, Héctor Barberá and Eugene Laverty
during the last few kilometres to reach the
bottom step of the podium.
With a 53-point advantage in the title
standings and just seven races left to run,
the two-time MotoGP World Champion looks
to be speeding towards a third career premier
class crown whilst behind, it is Rossi who is
now his closest pursuer.
In finishing fourth in Austria and second in
the Czech Republic, the experienced Italian
took full advantage of Lorenzo’s troubled
weekend at Brno to overtake his team-mate
in the Riders’ classification.
En route to claiming his first MotoGP
victory, Cal Crutchlow (Honda LCR) was
helped by a judicious tyre choice but still
had to contend with the likes of Rossi
and Marquez snapping at his heels!
Emotion
Since the beginning of the season, Marc
Márquez has reached the podium eight
times from nine starts – on three of those
occasions, the highest step. Two of the
Spaniard’s three victories have been
‘lights-to-flag’ successes, in Argentina and
Germany. At Termas de Río Hondo, the
two-time MotoGP World Champion crossed
the finish line some seven seconds clear of
his closest pursuer, Valentino Rossi. At the
Sachsenring, meanwhile, he wound up
almost 10 seconds ahead of runner-up Cal
Crutchlow. In 2013 – as he sped towards his
first title – the Honda rider had suffered
a serious late-season blow when he was
disqualified from the Australian Grand
Prix for pitting a lap too late in a race that
included a mandatory pit-stop to change
bikes. «Since then, we have worked hard to
perfect our bike switchover,» stresses Emilio
Alzamora’s protégé. “In testing, I frequently
practice jumping from one bike to another
as we run through the optimum positioning
of the bikes and what each mechanic
should be doing. We try to anticipate
every potential scenario and duly devise
a carefully considered strategy. From our
point of view, there was never a question of
bolting on intermediate tyres in Germany,
because we knew that I could very quickly
get a handle on the slicks, even if the track
conditions were not quite ideal.»
THE KING OF
‘LIGHTS-TO-FLAG’
Profile: cedric garde
Overseer
This season, Cédric Garde is supervising
Michelin’s team of MotoGP tyre-fitters.
This is a multi-faceted role as, in addition
to overseeing the tyre-fitting bays, he must
also liaise with the technicians who work
with the various teams. “It’s a job that
covers all the bases,” acknowledges the
33-year-old from Clermont-Ferrand, who
embarked upon the profession 12 years ago.
Working for Michelin via the ‘Auvergne
Pneumatique Racing’ organisation, Cédric
started out as a tyre-fitter himself in
France’s FFSA-run national series. In 2006,
he took control of equipment logistics
on rallies and, two years later, branched
out to include personnel management
in the European Le Mans Series. He then
enhanced his endurance event experience
with three years’ working on the famous
Dakar Rally, before switching over to two
wheels. “Car racing and bike racing are
completely different yet in some respects
very similar,” he explains. “The demands
are different, and the range of tyres is far
larger for bikes because the rider’s feeling
plays a greater role.” At grands prix, Garde
looks after a team of eight people: a stockkeeper, an assistant and six tyre-fitters,
who double up as drivers of the five trucks
that transport 1,500 tyres and supporting
equipment to every race weekend. “We all
need to be very versatile,” explains Cédric,
who is moreover in constant radio contact
with Michelin’s technicians. “Watching
the screens enables us to keep an eye on
what is happening out on the track so we
can react quickly to teams’ requirements,
particularly when the conditions are as
challenging and changeable as they were
in Germany.” Justifiably proud of the
excellent relationship that his team has
nurtured with MotoGP team managers
and the championship promoter, Cédric
has made it his mission to always give
the maximum when it comes to customer
satisfaction. “It’s important that these
‘tyre-men’ are happy when they work for
us,” he concludes.
“For the first time since
Michelin’s return to MotoGP
competition this season,
the Motorrad Grand Prix
Deutschland presented the
opportunity to see our full
range of tyres in action during
the same race. The entire field
started out on wet-weather
tyres – some on softs at the
front, some on extra-softs.
When the time came to pit
to switch bikes as the track
dried out, a number of riders
opted for slicks while others
preferred intermediates.
Andrea Dovizioso, indeed,
hedged his bets with an
intermediate at the front
and a slick at the rear. In this
particularly unusual race,
therefore, we were able
to justify the existence of
every tyre in our range and,
whilst several competitors
ultimately came to regret
making the wrong choice,
they nonetheless professed
themselves overwhelmingly
satisfied with our products
which suited either their
riding style or the operating
window in which they were
used. That said, the constantly
changing conditions over the
Sachsenring weekend were
certainly not easy to manage.
Nicolas goubert says...
Spotted at the Motorrad
Grand Prix Deutschland:
No, Sébastien Ogier is not
evaluating a switch to
MotoGP but, as a fan of all
types of motorsport, the
three-time FIA World Rally
Champion (with Michelin)
took the opportunity to
chat to Nicolas Goubert
about the differences
between the two
disciplines.
On Friday, it was cold and
there was a bit of rain, then
on Saturday the weather
was fine and on Sunday, it
rained up until the start of
the race. That enabled us to
try out the new wet-weather
tyres that we had produced
after the Dutch TT, where the
compounds that we provided
had proven to be a bit too
hard. It is no secret that we
were surprised by the lack
of traction at Assen which,
when we were previously
involved in MotoGP, had had
a reputation for being one of
the grippiest circuits in the
wet. Knowing that the track
surface at the Sachsenring is
quite old, we planned ahead
by manufacturing soft and
extra-soft tyres. That proved
to be the right move, as both
compounds were used over
the weekend by various riders
and teams – drawing very
positive feedback.”
In Loris Baz’s pit garage
at the Sachsenring
Return to action
Following a promising rookie season of grand
prix competition riding a Yamaha in the
‘Open’ class for Forward Racing, Loris Baz was
optimistic of taking a leap up the grid this
year aboard Avintia Racing’s Ducati GP14.2.
That, however, was to count without an
unfortunate accident at the first corner of the
Gran Premio d’Italia at Mugello in May when
he was hit by Álvaro Bautista’s Aprilia, leaving
him with 14 fractures in his right foot. Seven
weeks later and complete with two nails, three
titanium plates and 15 screws, the Frenchman
re-joined the MotoGP grid for the Motorrad
Grand Prix Deutschland. He reflected that it
was no easy task to settle back into the groove
after missing three races, while at the same
time needing to convince his employers that
he deserves to remain on-board in 2017... “The
unpredictable weather over the course of the
weekend didn’t do me any favours either!”
joked Héctor Barberá’s team-mate. “On the
positive side, my foot didn’t cause me any
pain. I’m still lacking a bit of strength and my
arms are to a certain extent compensating for
my right leg but, thankfully, this circuit turns
predominantly to the left. It almost feels like
I’m coming back from the winter off-season, in
that I need to get back into the rhythm after
a long break.” The difference in this instance
is that his rivals are already firmly on the pace,
and Baz also had to contend with trying to
overcome the set-up issues that have plagued
him ever since the championship returned to
Europe at the end of April. “I’m struggling for
confidence; I don’t feel the front grip and I
almost hold my breath every time I post a fast
lap. Nonetheless, we decided to stop making
such radical set-up changes to the bike, in
favour of focusing on smaller elements bitby-bit.” The 23-year-old had clearly hoped for
more on his comeback than just 17th position
at the chequered flag, two laps adrift of the
race-winner. “I went for the extra-soft tyre at
the front, but the circuit soon began to dry
out and it transpired to be a bit too soft for
my riding style. After changing over to slicks,
I still didn’t feel comfortable so I returned to
the pits to switch to intermediates – but of
course, the track then dried very quickly... That
all meant I ended up two laps down.”
Expert’s corner
colin
edwards
‘The tyre for everyone’
Despite hanging up his racing helmet at the end of the
2014 grand prix season, Colin Edwards remains very much
involved in MotoGP and, last year, the Texan participated
in Michelin’s tyre development programme on-board a
Yamaha bike. This year, he has continued to make sporadic
on-track appearances around his role as a pundit for British
TV channel BT Sport, which broadcasts the grand prix races
live. At the beginning of July, Edwards travelled to Malaysia
to assist Michelin’s evaluation of Sepang’s new track surface,
with the objective of determining which tyres will be taken
to Kuala Lumpur in October for the penultimate round of the
2016 campaign. “I hadn’t been testing or out on a bike since
March,” revealed the double World Superbike Champion
and 12-time MotoGP podium-finisher. “That enabled me to
assess the progress made by Michelin in a period of just over
three months. The front tyre now offers more feedback and
a better balance with the rear. Some riders are still lacking
a little confidence in its use, but Michelin’s technicians have
worked hard to make it a tyre that suits everybody. That has
to be the Holy Grail for a single-manufacturer championship
with a limited tyre allocation. We also took advantage of the
Malaysian test to try out new, more wear-resistant rubber
compounds, which yielded a similarly positive outcome.”
2016 MotoGP Calendar
The Championship
1 - Marquez (Honda).............
197
2 - Rossi (Yamaha).................
144
3 - lorenzo (Yamaha)............
138
4 - Pedrosa (Honda)..............
109
5 - Iannone (Ducati)..............
101
6 - Vińales (Suzuki)...............
100
7 - P.Espargaro (Yamaha)......
81
...
DateGrand Prixcircuit
120/03QatarLosail International
203/04
Argentina
Termas de Río Hondo
310/04
Américas
Circuit Of The Americas
424/04SpainCircuito de Jerez
508/05FranceLe Mans
622/05ItalyMugello
705/06
Catalunya
Circuito de Catalunya
826/06
Netherlands
TT Assen
917/07GermanySachsenring
1014/08AustriaRed Bull Ring
1121/08
CZECH REPUBLIC Brno
1204/09
GREAT BRITAIN
Silverstone
1311/09San MarinoMisano
1425/09AragónMotorLand Aragón
1516/10JapanTwin Ring Motegi
1623/10AustraliaPhillip Island
1730/10MalaysiaSepang International
1813/11Valenciacircuito ricardo tormo
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