For this, the 18th round of the 2024 MotoGP™ World Championship, Michelin Motorsport and its partners met in Buriram (Thailand), which is located 400 km northeast of Bangkok, the country’s capital. In a region where the population loves motorcycle racing, and despite the hot and humid weather, more than 205,000 people came through the gates of the Chang International Circuit during the three days of the event.
Ranked among the most testing circuits of the season for tyres, it combines five left turns and seven right-handers over its 4.554 km length, and also includes two straights, the longest of which reaches one kilometre. Here the motorcycles reach almost 340 km/h, and endure very violent braking forces. However, when the track is wet, it requires a lot of feel from the riders so that they can confidently attack certain turns and maintain fast lap times.
While the weather was very hot and humid throughout the weekend – more than 30°C on average, and sometimes more than 50°C on the track – the MICHELIN Power Slick ranges were regularly put to the test. However, the Sunday warm-up and the Grand Prix took place in wet conditions due to intermittent rain. Fortunately, the Michelin Motorsport teams had anticipated these difficult conditions, and the partners of the French manufacturer were able to benefit from tyres adapted to each situation.
"Adjusting the stiffness of the rubber compounds and strengthening the structure of the Hard front option certainly paid off," said Piero Taramasso, Michelin's two-wheel racing manager. "Given the performance level of the bikes, but also the track configuration and the weather, it was definitely the right thing to do. We also selected a firmer internal structure for the rear options, which gave our partners a higher level of confidence in the tyres."
"We saw this in qualifying, where the circuit lap record was broken, and also in the Tissot Sprint, where our partners averaged 0.8 seconds faster per lap compared to last year. The Grand Prix was also a reminder of the excellence of our MICHELIN Power Rain range, because on a wet track we saw an intense battle at an impressive pace. We know that in conditions with precarious grip levels, the feedback given by the tyres is even more important than in the dry, and on this point our rain ranges performed perfectly."
For the PT Grand Prix of Thailand, Michelin’s partners had at their disposal MICHELIN Power Slicks with three front symmetrical rubber compounds (Soft, Medium and Hard). At the rear, they could choose between Medium and Hard options, with an asymmetric tread that was reinforced on the right side in relation to the number of turns in this direction. The Hard front compound and Medium rear were chosen by the majority for the Tissot Sprint, while for the Grand Prix it was the MICHELIN Power Rain range that was put in the spotlight, in Medium compounds for the front rear. On Saturday afternoon, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) won the Tissot Sprint, followed by Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).
On Sunday, Francesco Bagnaia claimed victory in the Grand Prix, ahead of Jorge Martin and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3).
New Records Set at the Buriram Circuit
Tissot Sprint
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) broke his own sprint race lap record, clocking in at 1'29.554 (compared to 1'30.178 in 2023).
The duration of the Tissot Sprint decreased from 19'41.593 to 19'31.131, averaging a gain of 8 tenths of a second per lap.
Grand Prix
In qualifying, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) set a new all-time track record of 1'28.700. He also became the rider with the most pole positions with Ducati (22), all achieved with Michelin tyres.
The 19th and penultimate round of the MotoGP World Championship will take place next weekend, from November 1 to 3, at the Sepang circuit (Malaysia), for the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia.
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