Michelin tests at Indy

From Michelin

Michelin’s MotoGP test team visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time Tuesday and Wednesday to test tires in readiness for the inaugural Indy MotoGP event scheduled for Sept. 14.

The two-day session between the Dutch and German MotoGP rounds was scheduled thanks to new regulations which allow tire manufacturers to test at tracks which haven’t previously featured on the World Championship calendar.

“These tests are a good thing,” said Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “They allow us to get an initial feeling for the track. They also allow us to better understand the track and they give us an idea of how the race weekend will go.”

Weber was accompanied to the tests by two Michelin tire technicians, two fitters and two Michelin test riders: Frenchman Erwan Nigon aboard a Honda RC212V and compatriot William Costes aboard a Yamaha YZR-M1. Two hundred development tyres were sent to the tests from Michelin’s Clermont-Ferrand base.

“This track is very American, like the tracks used in the AMA Superbike championship which I follow on television,” explained Nigon. “You skim past walls, and you cross bands of bitumen and white lines.”

Added Costes, “The first corner is very fast, and difficult due to a lack of grip. After that the grip improves but the speed decreases with a succession of slower corners which are quite tricky to get right.”

Following this first test session the unusual Indy MotoGP circuit will undergo further improvements, most notably to the start/finish straight where speeds should nudge 320 km/h.

The weather during both days was good, despite a strong wind on day two. The tests went off without incident, apart from one small crash on the second day.

“We’ve had good weather, with a track temperature of 50 degrees on the first day and 47 degrees on the second,” added Weber. “We expect conditions to be not too dissimilar in September, when the temperature will be slightly less, which will be compensated by the faster pace during a race weekend.

“The Indy circuit is more complex than we expected. The grip wasn’t as good as we expected in the fast left after the start either, but it improved throughout the tests and will keep getting better as the bikes put down more rubber. On the other hand, the surface isn’t very aggressive on the tires. The circuit is unusual, with a fast main straight, heavy braking into the first turn and then a lot of slow corners."

Test Times (Day 1 / Day 2)
Niccolo Canepa (Ducati) 1:44.175 /1:43.006
Ben Spies (Suzuki) 1:44.226 / 1:43.091
Erwan Nigon (Honda-Michelin) 1:45.591 / 1:43.627
Olivier Jacque (Kawasaki) 1:45.273 / 1:43.818
Williams Costes (Yamaha-Michelin) 1:46.125 / 1:44.068
Wataru Yoshikawa (Yamaha) 1:45.591 / 1:44.297
Noboatsu Aoki (Suzuki) 1:57.968