Round 3 of the 2019 MotoGP™ season sees Michelin head to the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas and the Circuit of the Americas, a track renowned for its abrasive and bumpy surface.
Work was undergone ahead of the 2018 Americas GP to try and improve the track surface in Austin, with similar work having been done again this year. This means the Official MotoGP™ Class Tyre are heading into the unknown this weekend as question marks remain about what condition the asphalt will be in.
So what compounds will Michelin run in Texas? The range has been selected to try and cope with the stress of 11-right and 9-left corners, with the front soft, medium and hard slick tyres all symmetrical. The rears, on the other hand, will be available in an asymmetrical design, with the soft, medium and hard compounds featuring a harder right-hand-side to handle to added stress that side of the tyre will face.
Michelin is yet to experience wet weather in Austin but no matter, the French tyre manufacturer will provide MotoGP™ teams with soft and medium rain tyres for the front and rear. And just like their slick counterparts, the rear rain tyres will be asymmetrical in design with a harder right-hand-side.
Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager: “Austin is a very demanding circuit for all involved and this year it feels like we are going there again not quite sure what to expect. The track has had some more repair work to try to smooth out the bumps, so it will be a case for all to see how it performs and how the asphalt works compared to other seasons. We have a strong line-up of compounds, which we think are ideally suited to what we expect from the track and will give the opportunity to push for some very strong performances and fast times, but until Friday morning we don’t completely know how the circuit will behave. That being said though, Austin is a great event and we are always made to feel very welcome by the officials at CoTA and all the fans, so we will be determined to play our part in putting on a great show for them.”