Two weeks after the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, the last of three consecutive race weekends, the MotoGP riders return to the track. To do this, they have to make a long journey to Philip Island, an island of 7,000 inhabitants connected by a bridge to the Australian mainland. Situated on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean, the 4.445 km circuit, with 7 left and 5 right hand corners, was built in 1956 and has hosted MotoGP since 1989, with a break from 1991 to 1996.
For this 2024 edition, the asphalt has been replaced, and it is therefore a 100% new surface that the Michelin Motorsport teams and their partners will discover for the first time. This point is particularly important, because even though the layout is well known, the thermal behaviour, the wear characteristics and the grip levels of the track are for the moment a big question mark.
“We are eager to discover the nature of the new Phillip Island asphalt“, says Piero Taramasso, Two-Wheel Manager of Michelin Motorsport. "As we didn't have the opportunity to do any testing beforehand, we will bring an expanded tyre allocation. For the front we will have the same compounds (Soft, Medium and Hard) as in 2023, but for the rear, we are offering our partners three options instead of the usual two. We will have the Soft compound, with its usual internal structure, but also two tyres with Medium and Hard compounds, which benefit from a reinforced construction that we already saw at the end of September in Mandalika (Indonesia). We made this decision based on the configuration of the circuit and the constraints placed on the tyres. This weekend the challenge will be to provide our partners with front tyres that offer a good feeling and that control thermal effects well due to the fact that they can cool down easily on this track. There is no heavy braking, the air temperature is often low, and the wind here is particularly fresh. At the rear, on the other hand, while thermal control will also be one of the keys to success, it should be noted that the tyres will be exposed to constant heating due to the long fast curves and frequent acceleration that the circuit requires. However, a good understanding of the constraints generated by the new asphalt during the first test sessions will be very important."
For the Qatar Airways Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, Michelin’s partners will therefore have the choice between Soft, Medium and Hard rubber compounds for both the front and rear tyres. Exceptionally, as is also the case at Sachsenring (Germany) and Valencia (Spain), the front and rear tyres are asymmetric, with a reinforcement on the left side. Note that at Phillip Island, the track is used in an anticlockwise direction.
The proximity to the Indian Ocean, the time of year, and also the experience of past years mean that Michelin will also provide a rain range, which in the past has been frequently used here. As a result, the MICHELIN Power Rain will be offered in Soft and Medium compounds – symmetrical for the front and asymmetric at the rear, again with the left side reinforced.
Records to beat
The all-time circuit lap record of 1'27.246, was set by Johan Zarco in 2023.
The fastest race lap of 1'28.108 has been held since 2014 by Marc Marquez.
The reference duration of the Grand Prix is 40'33.849 (2015).
Enea Bastianini has held the top speed record since 2022 with 356.4 km/h reached on the longest straight of the circuit (900m).
The Qatar Airways Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix will start on Friday morning 18 October with a first practice session from 10:45 to 11:30. Then a second session from 15:00 to 16:00 will allow the 10 fastest riders to directly access the second phase of qualifying (Q2). After a final free practice session on Saturday morning between 10:10 and 10:40, Q1 will allow the two fastest riders to progress to Q2 in order to determine, at the end of Q2, the starting grid for the weekend. The 13-lap Tissot Sprint will start on Saturday at 15:00, and the 27-lap Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday 20 October at 14:00.
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