The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench into the works for MotoGP in all sorts of ways. In response to the pandemic, MSMA has decided to freeze engines and aerodynamics for 2020 and 2021, to limit costs in times of uncertainty.
That has gone a long way to keeping costs down, but as the world adapts to the pandemic, and it becomes clear that the global economic crisis has been averted, development budgets are starting to grow again.
It’s even more so as people start using the money as travel restrictions keep them from spending vacations to buy new motorbikes and accessories.
With engine development frozen, MotoGP engineers turned their minds to looking for advantages in other areas.
The mills have taken all of the hole-shooting devices that came out at the end of 2018 and, by 2019, turned them from devices only used at first into gear that can adjust the ride height, built Use during the race to improve acceleration and corner exit.
Faster speed on corner exits means higher speed in a straight line and, therefore, higher braking force.
That also had a big impact on Michelin’s development program. Since 2019, Michelin has been working on new front tires with more support, in order to improve cornering and braking stability.
The tire was tested in 2019, with more tests planned in 2020 to finalize development before its introduction in 2021. But with the 2020 calendar and test schedule being confirmed. completely rewritten, that idea had to be abandoned.
With 2022 promising a return to normal (pandemic and war permitting), this could be the season where front-tire work resumes. However, the evolution of MotoGP bikes over the past two seasons has forced a rethink, as the design parameters have changed.
“We are still working on the front,” Michelin boss Piero Taramasso told me when I spoke to him at the Sepang MotoGP test. “We’re going to make some adjustments and the tests will be done in 2023, to be introduced in 2024.”
The added aerodynamics and braking force changed the demands placed on the front tyres.
“It’s basically delayed, because we’re working to improve the temperature and control the pressure. Now when you have the slide, the tendency of the front tire is to overheat. So we’re working on that, to try to control that point better.”
The behavior of MotoGP bikes has changed a lot in the two years of the pandemic, Taramasso said.
“Over the last two seasons, we’ve realized that the bikes are changing, they’re putting more and more weight on the front, with small wings, and the riders are braking a lot. So the load is changing, so we have to change the development to accommodate that as well.”
With the front tire being subjected to a higher load, the front wheel will have to support more.
The stronger front end was supposed to help both Hondas and KTMs, as the bikes required the front brake the most.
But with redesign of RC213V To move the weight distribution more rearward, Honda is now less reliant on the front tires during revs. The car has more rear grip, so more driving out of corners, and the ability to use the rear tires to assist with braking.
Development of the front tire may be delayed until 2024, but Michelin will continue to develop a new rear tire before the 2023 season. “We have some new stuff, the rear tire,” Taramasso told me at Sepang.
MotoGP riders checked the tire in 2021 and brought it to Sepang for further inspection. “This rear cover, we tested last year in Barcelona, in Misano, in Jerez.
It’s a new solution to improve warmth and improve edge grip. So this solution, if it works, we will test it again this season. It could be introduced next year, for 2023.”
Photo: Michelin
