MotoGP News: Michelin's Upgraded Front Tire Receives Verdict In Barcelona But Launch Delayed

Saajan Jogia | Nov 30, 2024

Apr 12, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Luca Marini (10) of Italy and Repsol Honda Team during practice for the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Michelin has revealed its updated development timeline for the new MotoGP front tire construction initially planned for introduction in 2025 but now postponed until at least 2026. The new design, tested during the post-season session in Barcelona received positive feedback from a select group of riders who had the opportunity to evaluate its performance, including Repsol Honda's Luca Marini.

Michelin has been developing a new front tire designed to better handle the heightened impact of aerodynamics, particularly on tire pressure. Initially slated for a 2025 debut, the tire's introduction has been pushed to 2026 due to limited testing opportunities during the 2024 season. Marini stated that Michelin is doing a good job on the development of the tire, the limit of which he feels has been increased further. He said:

“When you exit from the garage the bike feels super heavy, but when you start to massage the tyre and get it warm then the feeling is warm.

“For me they are doing a good job with the front tyre, especially when entering with the brakes on.

“The limit feels even further now [but] until you crash you don’t understand the limit.

“So, when the time comes to push with this tyre it feels like you can enter with much more brake on. There are no negative points.”

Piero Taramasso, the manager of Michelin's two-wheel competition, said in an interview with Motorsport Italy that testing on the new front tire will continue in Sepang and Buriram before further tweaks are made. He said:

“We will take it again to Sepang and Buriram, for the winter tests, maybe making a few more changes.

“Then, based on the results we will have in these two sessions, when we will have tested it on four or five different circuits and in different conditions, we will make the last necessary changes, then the model will be fixed and we will not change it again.

“Afterwards, we will propose it again throughout 2025 both in the official tests and in the private tests, so that the teams can get used to it and start finding settings to make the most of it, both in terms of chassis and suspension.

“In this way, we think they will be ready when we finally introduce it.

“As we said in Misano, we chose not to introduce it immediately in 2025 precisely to move forward with the tests and also give a bit of stability to the teams, knowing that this year we had already introduced new compounds both at the front and the rear.”

Taramasso added that while the tire has met expectations so far, he was baffled by the common feedback from the riders who said that the front felt heavier, despite the new tire being lighter by 1 kg than the 2024 tire. He added:

“The only thing we need to understand is why, despite being 1kg lighter than the previous model, some riders tell us that they feel the bike is heavier, less agile, especially when changing direction.

“We need to understand if it is something related to the setting or perhaps to the pressures, which could require different parameters.

“However, I must say that this type of comment was made by practically everyone in Misano, while in Barcelona it was already a little less widespread.

“In any case, we are studying the data to understand the reason, but for the rest we can talk about a tyre in line with our expectations.”

The upgraded tire is said to be less sensitive to temperature changes and will have more grip than the current front tire. Taramasso said:

"It's a tire that is less sensitive to changes in temperature and pressure. It was designed with a larger profile for this very reason, but also to have more grip. A feeling that was confirmed by the riders both when braking and when entering a curve."