For the first time, the MotoGP World Championship will get under way with the Grande Prémio Tissot de Portugal where a raft of changes will come into effect.
Situated in the hills to the northwest of Portimão, Autódromo Internacional do Algarve has a capacity for 100,000 spectators and the 4.6-kilometre circuit features 15 turns (nine right-handers, six left-handers). The long pits straight is practically a kilometre in length and enables the riders to reach speeds in excess of 350kph.
The combination of the circuit’s hilly profile and high speeds – aided by the downhill run to the first corner – makes it something of a roller-coaster for the riders.
Starting this season, Dorna Sports has revamped the format of its race weekends, with a revised timetable for the different free practice sessions and the inclusion of Sprint Races on Saturday afternoons. These short races will cover half the distance of the corresponding headlining grand prix and will see the top nine finishers earn half the usual allocation of championship points.
This new-look package will apply from this Friday when the unchanged FP1 slot will be followed by a one-hour FP2 session. This is 15 minutes longer than in the past to give teams time to work on their respective set-ups for qualifying and the race. The combined times posted in these two sessions will determine which 10 riders qualify automatically for Q2.
Saturday schedules will begin with FP3 (30 minutes) but, in a break with the past, this session will have no influence on qualifying. It will be followed by Q1 and Q2 which will establish the grid order for both the ensuing Sprint Race and Sunday’s grand prix. As previously, the two fastest riders in Q1 will go on to contest Q2. FP4 has been dropped to leave time for Saturday afternoon’s Sprint which will provide spectators with additional racing.
Sunday’s action will continue to kick off with the morning’s warm-up run, albeit shortened to 10 minutes. In the case of the 2023 Grande Prémio de Portugal, the start is scheduled for 2PM local time, and the total distance completed during the 25-lap race will be 115 kilometres. Last year’s fastest race lap was the work of Frenchman Fabio Quartararo (1m39.435s), while the former track lap record (1m38.725s) clocked by Francesco Bagnaia in 2021 was bettered by around half the field at the pre-season Portimão test on March 11-12.
Tyre allocations have been reviewed this year and riders now have an individual package of three front MICHELIN Power Slicks, plus two rear compounds, which is one less than in 2022. For Portugal, they will be able to choose from symmetric Soft, Medium and Hard fronts, while the alternatives for the rear are the asymmetric Soft and symmetric Medium.
Although the temperature promises to be mild in the Algarve at this time of year, the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean means the weather can change very quickly. In the case of rain, the riders will be able to choose between Soft and Medium symmetric fronts, and Soft and Medium asymmetric rears (harder compound on the right).
“For this year, Dorna Sports has introduced some very interesting changes that will provide spectators with a more entertaining package, without increasing the number of tyres riders use over the weekend,” notes Piero Taramasso, the manager of Michelin’s two-wheel motorsport programmes. “We have even managed to reduce the overall quantity of tyres we need to manufacture, transport and recycle for each grand prix by restricting the choice of rears to just two specifications. This decision was taken based on the number of tyres actually consumed in previous years, since one of the three available rears regularly went unfitted. But these tyres were pre-heated, and there was always a chance some might have to be recycled despite not being used.
“As far as the fronts are concerned, we will have the Soft and Medium as planned, and we have finally plumped in favour of the 2022-spec Hard as the third option. At the pre-season test at the beginning of March, we evaluated a new Medium/Hard which was well received, but our decision for Portugal was guided by the likely weather, with the prospect of air temperatures of up to 24°C and and track temperatures between 30°C and 35°C. Our aim is to cover the broadest spectrum possible.
“Last but not least, I would like to underline the passion and commitment that drove the entire Michelin Motorsport team over the winter break. They worked exceptionally hard to make sure that 2023 gets off to the best possible start.”
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario