Grip issues at Termas highlight Michelin differences

The massive difference between last season’s Bridgestones and this year’s Michelin tyres has been highlighted by a lack of grip for the opening MotoGP session at Argentina’s Termas de Río Hondo circuit.

Expecting the track to be slippery after months of inactivity, the riders were nonetheless left four seconds off last year’s pace and unimpressed with the lack of grip.

And, with the grippy rears of Michelin replacing the strong front tyres provided by Bridgestone, Andrea Dovizioso was one of a number of riders who likened the conditions to riding in the wet.

“It was like last year, but with the tyre we have now it is more difficult with the front. It was like riding in the wet – very, very difficult in every corner. The front tyre doesn’t work, and we’re going to have to wait until this afternoon to see how much of a step the track needs before this afternoon. Last year it was the same, but the limit was the rear tyre.”

However, despite the slipperiness of the track, Marc Marquez was left positive with how he got on in the session. Still too early to answer the question marks he said he had going into the weekend, he nonetheless is expecting conditions to be much improved for this afternoon’s second outing.

“We cannot say a lot of things about the race, because the track was so slippery – we weren’t pushing. We are four or five seconds behind the ‘correct’ lap time, but it can improve two or three seconds this afternoon.”