When the single tire regulations came in, Michelin abandoned WSBK. But now, more than two decades later, the French brand will return to the championship but as a single supplier. The challenge is evident, because even though there will be no competition, everyone will be paying attention to whether or not there is an improvement in performance.
That does not mean that the comparisons will not be simple because, on the one hand, we will have the evolution of the motorcycles and, on the other, there will be the conditions in which the riders find themselves on the tracks. Any variation can be decisive for and against. What is certain is that all the experience that Michelin has and the years in MotoGP will make them competitive in this comparison from the first moment.
These assumptions are supported by the data leaked by GPOne colleagues and that, although they were secret, last Monday and Tuesday there were some private tests in which the WSBK drivers were able to have their first contact with Michelin tires.
Although, as happened when some riders tested the Pirelli MotoGP, no one could comment on anything by contract, some times have been leaked that don’t look bad. It must be taken into account that it is not known what type of tire was used, nor if they were able to work with different compounds, or even with any classification.
Times with Michelin tires have been competitive
What it does seem is that from the outset they are not bad at all, since Iker Lecuona stopped the clock at 1.48″619 and was the fastest of the day. From the outset it can be stated, without having more information, that it is a reasonably competitive time, and even more so taking into account that on that day the aim was not so much to find the limits but to make contact with a team that works in a very different way to the Pirelli.
If we compare Iker’s time with last weekend’s Superpole then he is far away, 1.3 seconds off his best time. Now, if we compare it with the fastest race lap, Iker’s time is not only faster than those he achieved in the long races of the Aragonese event, but also faster than Nicolo Bulega’s best lap, who made his fastest lap in 1’48.681. It is even less than a second off the time of 1’47.709, Nicolo’s best fastest lap in the Superpole Race.
What there is no doubt is that it is a good result for a contact, and taking into account that the track conditions were not ideal, with strong wind on Tuesday where, perhaps, it could have been improved.
