MotoGP: Michelin bring four options for Silverstone surface

MotoGP sole tyre manufacturer Michelin will bring four options of tyres to this weekend’s British Grand Prix instead of the usual three, as they play it safe on a new surface on which they haven’t tested yet.

Lapping for the first time on the new asphalt laid specifically for MotoGP and unable to squeeze a test into the already-crowded calendar, Michelin boss Piero Taramasso says that with the extra option he’s confident that they’re prepared for all eventualities.

“This is another big challenge for us as we are heading to the longest track of the year after it has a full resurface and we have not had the opportunity to test there. We have had full advice from Silverstone, the company that laid the asphalt and have also had lots of information from other relevant parties that have given us some valuable feedback about the track.

“We also have our own data and we are confident that we will have the correct compounds for the new surface. When this season’s allocations were prepared at the start of the year, we were able to decide on four front and rear tyres for Silverstone and these will give all the riders different options to appraise before they make their race tyre decision.”

The fourth option will be an additional hard front and rear tyre that are visually identical to each other, both carrying Michelin’s hard compound yellow identifying stripe but featuring slightly different compounds of rubber.

While the soft front will be the only asymmetric offering – with a harder right-hand-side – all four rear options will also feature a harder right side thanks to the long and fast right hand corners at the Northamptonshire circuit.