2006 MotoGP World Championship, round 11 United States Grand Prix, Laguna Seca July 21/22/23 SPECIAL CHALLENGE FOR MICHELIN AT LAGUNA This weekend’s United States Grand Prix presents an extra-special challenge for Michelin’s MotoGP team. Laguna Seca was resurfaced just a few weeks ago, so Michelin goes into this event ‘blind’, creating a broader-than-usual range of tires that should offer its nine MotoGP riders winning grip, whatever the characteristics of the new surface. So far this season Michelin has provided winning grip at nine of the first ten races, with its riders filling 25 of a potential 30 podium places and holding the top four positions in the current World Championship standings. Series leader Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin) will be looking for a repeat of his sensational 2005 Laguna victory to stretch his points lead, which shrunk slightly last Sunday when Valentino Rossi (Camel Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) won the German GP to move into second overall. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin) is currently third with Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V-Michelin) fourth. Just 35 points cover the top four riders. MICHELIN’S RESPONSE TO THE CHALLENGE OF LAGUNA SECA “It’s great to go to the States because obviously it’s a very important market for us,” says Michelin’s motorcycle racing director Nicolas Goubert. “This will be an interesting weekend because the track has been resurfaced, so that probably means a big change in its characteristics. In fact it will be almost like going to a new track for us. In theory, the grip level should be a lot higher than before, but until we get there we won’t know exactly what kind of effect the new tarmac will have on tires. On top of that, the surface will probably change a lot during the course of the weekend because it’s brand new, which will make it a difficult event for all the tire makers. “To be prepared for such unpredictable conditions we will take more than our usual supply of tires to Laguna. For most races we take around 1000 tires for our nine riders, this weekend we’ll have about ten per cent more than that. We will offer slightly more choice than usual, but there’s no point in having too great a choice because there simply isn’t enough time for riders to test too many different tires. The main thing is to have tires that will cover a larger range of conditions. “The old surface was quite easy on tires because it wasn’t too grippy or aggressive. That’s why finding traction used to the key point at Laguna. The new surface should make it easier to find traction, but we’ll have to wait and see if it will cause any problems on tire temperature and tire wear. We still don’t think the circuit will be too tough on tires, because the layout, with no long corners or long straights, isn’t demanding. “We are very happy with the latest version of our narrow-profile front, which won two of the last three races, at Assen and Donington. This tire uses a new construction which helps in corner entry, allowing riders to keep the brakes on for longer into the turns. “Preparing for Laguna Seca required some extra logistics because the event follows so soon after last Sunday’s German GP. Some of our tires left Clermont-Ferrand last Thursday, others were sent from the German GP, leaving Frankfurt on Monday, and a final batch, produced according to what we learned at the Sachsenring, left our factory the same day.” LAGUNA SECA DATA Lap record: Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), 1:23.915, 154.871kmh/96.232mph) Pole position 2005: Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin), 1:22.670 Recent winners of the US GP 2005 Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin), 45:15.374 MICHELIN MotoGP RIDERS 2006 Nicky Hayden, Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin) Toni Elias, Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V-Michelin) Casey Stoner (Honda LCR RC211V-Michelin) Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V-Michelin) Kenny Roberts Jr (Team Roberts KR211V-Michelin) Colin Edwards, Valentino Rossi (Camel Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: United States Grand Prix Preview The next race on the 2006 Moto GP world tour takes Bridgestone Motorsport overseas to Monterey, California for the second consecutive United States Grand Prix. Barely has the chequered flag been waved at Germany’s Sachsenring circuit – with five Bridgestone riders frequenting the top ten – than the entire Moto GP operation has to relocate at the other side of the world to take on the might of the Laguna Seca track this weekend. The 2006 event will be the tenth United States Grand Prix and the eighth to be held in Monterey, but it will be only the second time that Bridgestone has competed at the Californian course, placing additional constraints on the Japanese tyre manufacturer in only its fifth year at the pinnacle of motorcycle racing. Since its lauded return to the calendar last year following extensive renovation, the 3.61km Laguna Seca circuit has seen further development with a complete resurfacing of the asphalt, which could play an integral role in the outcome of this weekend’s event. Hiroshi Yamada – Bridgestone Motorsport – Motorcycle Racing Manager “We head to the United States for only the second time, so we will still be playing catch-up in many respects. However, recent revisions to the circuit, including a total renewal of the asphalt could level the playing the field, as data collated from last year’s event may no longer prove entirely accurate. We will of course not know until the first practice sessions on Friday, but it is also likely to be quite oily as liquid seeps through the new tarmac. If the new circuit surface is quite sharp we will have to keen an eye on degradation and wear, but if the track is smooth we will be on the search for grip. Therefore, we are taking a variety of tyres to Laguna Seca this year as pre-emptive measure, including some compounds from Sachsenring and some newer compounds directly from Japan. The track layout is also quite challenging in itself. We have to tackle 11 corners, seven left and four right, including arguably the world’s most challenging corner, the Corkscrew, and the undulating nature of the circuit, which all combines to place a particular importance on cornering ability. We will be looking closely at the consistency of our Bridgestone tyres over the full 32-lap race distance in an effort to allow our riders to keep the pressure on right up to the chequered flag. We left with an eighth-placed best with John Hopkins in his home race last year, which as rookies was quite a reasonable result for Bridgestone, but we hope to improve on that in 2006 to help all of our riders’ add to their point tallies.” Bridgestone’s 2005 United States GP Race Results Pos. Rider Motorcycle Race Time Gap P8 John Hopkins Suzuki 45m38.522s +23.148s P9 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki 45m38.999s +23.625s P10 Loris Capirossi Ducati 45m41.497s +26.123s P12 Alex Hofmann Kawasaki 46m06.331s +50.957s P14 Kenny Roberts Suzuki 46m29.123s +1m13.749s NC Carlos Checa Ducati 11m28.318s +24 laps