With the 2015 MotoGP season over, the Michelin era begins with two days of testing at Valencia. After an absence of seven years, the French manufacturer is back as the single tire supplier. For the first time since private testing began at Sepang in February this year, we will get to see how the Michelin tires perform and who will adapt best to the new tires. The Michelin tires in are the opposite to the Bridgestones—they have outstanding rear grip and a front that needs to be handled with care. Some riders are concerned. “We are a bit worried,” confessed Valentino Rossi. “We know very well Bridgestone, but we don’t know if the new tires will be better or worse. For sure, with the introduction of the single ECU and the change of the spec tire supplier, it’s a new challenge for us and we want to continue to be competitive.” Ducati’s Andrea Iannone: “The tires are complete different but I had a good impression. The braking point is different, the pressure too. For me, it might be easier because, with Bridgestone, you had to push a lot on the front. With Michelin it will be impossible. It’s too early, but I think the Michelins can suit my riding style.” What is Michelin’s answer to these initial concerns? We spoke with Piero Taramasso, the executive in charge of Michelin’s two-wheeled motorsport program. Question: When Michelin left MotoGP at the end of 2008, it was said that you were not interested in a single-tire championship. What has changed? Piero Taramasso: “Yes, we left the championship because we were not interested in the single tire. Now we are back and we accept this rule because we can develop the new technology and transfer it to the road tires. For this purpose, we switched from 16.5 to 17 inches. This is a technical interest. Secondly, the image of MotoGP is very strong. We want to be in the top class again.” 
Q: What was the priority when you started the new project? PT: “The priority is to supply a safe tire that is reliable for the whole race distance. Then we are sure that lap times will come. We are not so far from the results we wanted.” Q: Honda and Ducati tested more than the other manufacturers. Do you see them as favorites? PT: “We gave the same possibility to everybody because we can really progress in the tire development with the factory riders. Yamaha didn’t test with us a lot. They were focusing on the 2015 machine as they had two riders fighting for the title, while Honda tested a lot as they were already looking at 2016.” Q: How much will the riding style change with Michelin tires? PT: “The impact will be important. You cannot ride with Michelin tire in the same way as with other manufacturers. You need to adapt and change your riding style. The rider who will adapt quicker will be the most competitive for sure. What is sure is that everybody will get the same tire. Regarding the riding, looking at the video images from Aragon, for example, where we also tested, we saw that the braking point was the same, but with our tires the corner speed will be higher. At the moment, it looks like you will have to ride more like with a Moto2 style: The key is don’t brake so hard like they used to do and keep more speed through the corner. This has been the comment so far of all the riders.” Q: Will we see more sliding? PT: “Not at beginning of race. But when the tires start to drop, maybe they can slide more. Then it depends from the weight distribution of the bike, the riding style of each rider. It’s not only the tire.” 
Q: Marc Marquez is famous for braking so hard. Will he need to work harder to adapt? PT: “In Aragon, we saw that he braked in the same point, so it’s hard to anticipate.” Q: Which compound will be on track next year? PT: “There will be two options for each GP. In 2016, there won’t be the open category so the tires will be the same for everyone. Compared to 2015, there will be one more tire available: 10 front and 12 rear slicks for the weekend. The number for the rain tires remains the same and we will introduce three sets of intermediates per weekend.” Q: What kind of tires are you using at Valencia test? PT: “We’ve entered into a second phase that focuses on fine-tuning some details. But, of course, we cannot make big changes. Let’s say that the rear is fixed at 95 percent, while we are still working on the front. We went to almost all the circuits with the test riders (Argentina, Texas, Germany, Japan)—Colin Edwards for Yamaha, Michele Pirro for Ducati and Hiroshi Aoyama for Honda. We tested also with Randy De Puniet (Suzuki) and Eugene Laverty (Aprilia). After Valencia, we will keep working. We have a test in Sepang.” Q: Is the tire really the key? PT: Yes, it’s very important. If a machine has a powerful engine but you are not able to transfer [that power] to the ground, you cannot be fast. I would say 35 percent is the bike, 35 percent is the rider, and 30 percent is the tire. Honestly, the performance in MotoGP is so high that every single detail has to be at the maximum.” Q: Where has Michelin been in motorcycle racing? PT: “Since 2009, Michelin has not disappeared. We’ve been engaged in several Superbike national championships. Because it’s an open category, we could continue to develop the product, such as in the Italian Superbike championship, the Spanish one, and in the endurance world championship.” 
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