After a hiatus of three years due to the pandemic, the Michelin Motorsport team will once again embark on one of its most complex logistical journeys of the MotoGP
season as the championship heads to South America, and the town of Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina, for the third round of the year: the Gran Premio Michelin de la República Argentina.
MotoGP returned to Argentina in 2014 after a long 15-year break, with the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in the northern province of Santiago del Estero becoming the host venue for the Gran Premio de la República Argentina – a race that had previously been held in Buenos Aires.
The 4,806m (2.99 miles) circuit has always been a severe test of riders, machinery and particularly the tyres. Its abrasive surface, mixed with high temperatures experienced at this time of year and increased loads that are created throughout the five left and nine right-hand turns, combined with its 1078m (3,530ft) straight means the Michelin tyres will endure one of their toughest tests of the season.
The Michelin allocation for Argentina will feature Soft, Medium and Hard compound MICHELIN Power Slick tyres front and rear that have been chosen to combat the stresses of this demanding circuit, and they will all be symmetric. The decision to use all symmetric tyres was made because of the even spread of stresses that are created during each lap. In the event of wet weather, which historically has been a regular occurrence at Termas de Rio Hondo, the MICHELIN Power Rain tyres will be available in Soft and Medium compounds for the front and rear, with the rears being asymmetric, featuring a harder right-hand-side.
Commenting on the weekend, Piero Taramasso, Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager, said: “With this being the Michelin Grand Prix of Argentina, it makes me and the rest of the Motorsport team very happy and proud to be here. It gives us the perfect opportunity to showcase our tyres and the Michelin brand to the many bikers and MotoGP fans here in South America.
“The Termas track has always been something of a challenge for us since we returned to MotoGP, with a lot of inclement weather meaning we were never able to get a completely dry weekend to test the performance of our MICHELIN Power Slick tyres. In addition, the grip levels of the circuit have gradually decreased since it was last resurfaced in 2014. This year we are taking an allocation similar to the one used in 2019, but the tyres have been updated to include some later developments in terms of casing design and compounds to help resist the arduous track conditions.”
The MotoGP riders will take to the track on Friday 1 April for the first two of the Free Practice sessions. Saturday will then see Free Practice sessions 3 and 4, before qualifying to decide the grid positions. Sunday’s 25-lap race will get underway when the lights go out at 15:00 local time
