How did Michelin do their first year back in GP?

So how did they do?

I have always liked Michelin tires for my cars, and have been happy using Power Cups on the track. It is definitely not easy to come back and supply tires for the highest level of racing, but I have to say that I am disappointed about their first year back. Their apparent lack of front end feel and mid-corner tendency to just loose it when applying mid-corner “maintenance throttle” by the best riders in the world does not seem acceptable to me. They did appear to improve during the year, but not markedly. Yes, supposedly the rear tire grips like Velcro, but these are two wheeled motorcycles not four wheeled cars, and for that use front end feel and predictability has to be priority and so far Bridgestone were the ones delivering that and Michelin did not, so I am disappointed. Actually, I think I may now try others brands on track as I am curious and wondering what I might be missing out on. The Pirellis in SBK seem to behave quite well.

So yes, this is another tire thread, but not the usual which is the best tire for me. And I am not into just bashing products w/o good reason, but I am honestly disappointed and hope Michelin turns this one around. What do you guys think?

 

They won every race!

 

and the championship.

 

I can't recall how well Bridgestone did their first year as spec tire provider for comparison. Actually that's not even a fair comparison because they were still providing tires for some teams in the pre-spec tire era. Michelin has essentially been on hiatus from the GPs since 2007. So they not only came in fresh, but they also dealt with a change in rim size from 16.5 to 17in.

 

They got Ducati on the top step first year out...take that BS!

 

I like michelins in the rain,but b-stones in the dry. I ran pirellis one weekend at NJMP this year,but went back to the stones afterwards.

 

George complained all season about them causing him to not win. So great

 

I think basing any club racer level tire decision on MotoGP Spec tires is beyond ridiculous.

Michelin did fine, certainly as well as Bridgestone did in year 1.

 

Ohhh....GP as in MotoGP.......oh well I was referring to Lightweight GP

 

Yea, not sure how anybody could even draw a single comparison to what Michelin has to provide to the MotoGP field and what they offer to the "regular" consumer.

Regarding their performance, I thought they did great for their first year. Not without hiccups, but they responded very quickly to concerns from the teams and riders and (isolated incidents notwithstanding) seemed to improve greatly over the course of the season.

 

Well, they are the same shape, color and have Michelin on the side, what could be different?

 

You might want to research this a bit better.

 

My bad 2008

 

Try again

 

I'll wait till Melka gets here.

 

http://www.sportrider.com/michelins-nicola-goubert-talks-about-motogp-tire-progress

"In 2008, Michelin resigned from world championship motorsports on the grounds that they wanted real competition with other tire manufacturers."

 

Michelin supplied tires to six teams/11 riders in 2008. Look it up.

 

Hehe, I guess a tire thread always delivers. OK, fair enough, forget about the part about influencing club racing tire decisions as that is sidetracking the discussion from my main point. My point was that seeing countless front-end falls by the best in the world, and reading the riders say they had no idea why, was eye opening. As a spectator hearing about this, and having previously heard about the Bridgestone Moto GP front tire, my reaction was that this is not good enough by Michelin, that this is not what I would want to be known for as a motorcycle tire company. But sure, this is their first year back and it is not reasonable to cast a verdict so soon. However, if say two years from now they have not changed the perception of the front tire predictability then I would say that is a fail.

OK, interesting/good feed-back, as I can't remember anything about how Bridgestone did in year 1. Yes, I think they did well in responding to especially the rear-tire failing for the heavier guys like Redding.

 

With the switch to spec(and less advanced)traction control as well as the new tires, I expected lap times to be slower than 2015, but I think they broke records at most tracks, if I remember correctly. So I would have to say it was a pretty successful return.

 

So they also won qualifying and practice? Damn!