The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was built in 1991, for the 1992 Summer Olympics. It was used, among other things, as the start and finish line for the road cycling team time trial. Since then it has been the scene of many motor sport events, and a motorcycle Grand Prix has been held there every year since 1996. Last year, it was Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) who won a race marked by hot weather and a track temperature of 55°C. The French rider took command of the Grand Prix from the first corner and led to the finish line. He was able to rely on MICHELIN Power Slick tyres that were adapted to the task, and which allowed him to control the race until the checkered flag.
Last year the Grand Prix took place at the beginning of June, so with this year's race at the beginning of September, there could be some differences – especially in terms of temperature.
"We will bring the hardest compound of the season for the front tyre to the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit," said Piero Taramasso, Michelin two-wheel competition manager. "The asphalt here was redone in 2018, and as a result the grip levels are very low, however the high temperatures and the circuit layout mean that this is still a very demanding track. We have chosen to deal with this severity by supplying symmetrical tyres with three compounds for the front, and two for the rear. The high-speed nature of the circuit led us to select asymmetric rear tyres, with reinforced rubber on the right side. With this allocation we will be able to respond to all situations, as we did in 2022 when we brought a similar range of MICHELIN Power Slick tyres."
At the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit, Michelin's partners will have Soft, Medium and Hard compounds available for the front, and Soft and Medium for the rear. This selection will allow the riders to try and beat the existing records at the 4.627 km track. With six left-hand corners and eight right-hand corners, as well as a 12m wide 1,047m straight, the MotoGP riders will be able to push themselves and their machines in complete confidence, due to the balanced performance of the Michelin tyres.
The race weekend format will include the first Free Practice session on Friday morning (45 minutes). Then a one-hour Practice session, which counts towards qualifying for the next day, will take place in the afternoon, and this will allow the 10 fastest riders to progress directly to Q2. The format for Saturday and Sunday does not change, with a Free Practice session on Saturday morning, followed by the two qualifying sessions (Q1 and Q2), and the Sprint Race in the afternoon. The Grand Prix will take place on Sunday.
An exceptional tyre for the seventh round of the FIM ENEL MotoE™ World Championship
The new electric motorcycles supplied by Ducati since the start of this season have already been used on the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit. They took part in a three-day official test last April, equipped with a range of Michelin tyres developed specifically for them. For this penultimate weekend of the championship, they will be equipped with a harder rubber compound at the front. “We have made a single tyre for the whole season, and the compound and casing construction of our tyres never changes from one circuit to another“, explains Piero Taramasso. "However, the configuration of the Barcelona track required a rubber compound with more grip at the front, so we have decided to make an exception for once in the season in order to provide maximum performance and safety to our partners in MotoE – a category that offers very entertaining racing."
The FIM Enel MotoE World Championship electric motorcycles are all equipped with Michelin tyres containing 52% sustainable materials at the rear, and 34% at the front. Michelin considers 'sustainable' materials to be biosourced or recycled elements that are neutral for the environment. Like all the championships in which it is involved, Michelin uses MotoE as a test laboratory for its future technologies. The objective is to be able to partially or fully integrate these technologies into the next generations of competition or mass-produced tyres, and as a result, develop increasingly durable tyres for everyone.
In MotoE, practice and qualifying – two sessions of each – take place on Friday, and the two races on Saturday – one at lunchtime, and the other in the middle of the afternoon, after the MotoGP Sprint race.
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