Following a successful start to the 2023 season at Portugal's Autódromo Internacional do Algarve close to Portimão, which saw lap records broken across the board, MotoGP is moving on to Argentina, in South America, for round two. During the rest of the year, the small spa destination of Termas de Rio Hondo is home to just 30,000 people. However, as has become customary, its population multiplies when the world's fastest riders come to town.
Opened in 2008 and resurfaced in 2014, the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit is as demanding as it is unpredictable. Its asphalt is abrasive and the 14 corners that make up the 4.806km lap (five left-handers, nine right) allow little margin for error. What's more, the track's overall usage varies from season to season and, having not been used in recent weeks, riders will initially need to contend with a dirty surface that has not been rubbered in.
To add to the challenge, forecasters are predicting high temperatures of around 30°C (with a minimum of 22°C), which will equate to a track temperature in excess of 40°C for the bikes and tyres to handle – a situation exacerbated by the circuit's difficult braking zones, particularly at the end of the long back straight (1.078km).
Piero Taramasso, Manager of Michelin's two-wheel motorsport programmes:
"Argentina is a special event on the MotoGP schedule. It's a unique place, and a tough circuit that always has the capacity to surprise – not least when it comes to the weather! We don't know the track as well as some of the others on the calendar, coming here only once a year and with no testing taking place at Termas de Rio Hondo, and it was a race that wasn't held during the Covid-19 pandemic. What we do know is that the circuit's comparatively coarse asphalt is aggressive on tyres. That was a factor that we took into account during their development, and our technical advisors delegated to work with the teams will support our partners at the track to help them to perform to the best of their ability from the outset."
A new Medium front MICHELIN Power Slick
In-line with the revised allocations allowed in 2023, Michelin will bring three different front tyre options to Argentina and two for the rear (as opposed to three up to the end of last season). The new addition to this selection is the Medium front, whose compound is designed to be more versatile, reach its ideal operating temperature rapidly and maintain consistently strong performance over the duration of the race. This tyre was tested at Sepang in Malaysia in February, and subsequently in Portugal at the beginning of March, drawing positive feedback from all the riders. For the rear, Michelin has elected to bring its Medium and Hard options, which were the preferred compounds last season in Argentina. All of these tyres are symmetric. Should it rain – a frequent, if inconsistent occurrence at Termas de Rio Hondo – competitors will be able to choose between the Soft and Medium symmetric front MICHELIN Power Rains, and Soft and Medium asymmetric rears (with a harder compound on the right).
In Argentina, riders will have an individual provision of 27 tyres: 15 fronts (five of each different compound) and 12 rears (seven Soft and five Medium). From these, they may use up to 22 (10 fronts, 12 rears).
Round 2 of the 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship campaign will rev into life on Friday, March 31, with a brace of practice sessions, from which the 10 quickest competitors will qualify automatically for the Q2 phase of qualifying. After FP3, the new Sprint race will get underway at 3pm local time on Saturday, April 1. The main event – the Gran Premio Michelin de la República Argentina – is due to begin at 2pm local time on Sunday, April 2.
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