The Motorcycle, Scooter, Quad Show – Paris 2011

MICHELIN and BMW Motorrad France to continue their successful association on the racetrack in 2012

MICHELIN and BMW Motorrad France will continue their technical partnership in motorcycle racing in 2012. The objective of the association will be to build on the titles obtained in the 2010 and 2011 French Superbike Championships to target the top prize in next year’s FIM Endurance World Championship. Meanwhile, the joint ongoing efforts of MICHELIN and BMW Motorrad France to produce the most competitive bike/rider/tyre package has actively contributed to the development of MICHELIN’s new Power Cup, Power Slick and Power Rain ‘racing’ tyre ranges which are due to be launched in 2012.

The common goal shared by MICHELIN and BMW Motorrad is to win all the competitions in which the two firms are jointly involved, the keywords of their technical partnership being ‘performance’ and ‘innovation’ in their bid to make the tyres a fully integrated part of the bike.

To this end, MICHELIN’s motorcycle racing tyre research specialists seek the most competitive possible balance between consistency, grip and agility thanks to the development of new casings and the use of new materials. It is this balance which provides the riders with the performance potential they need to achieve their sporting goals.

The efficiency of the way the bike, riders and their MICHELIN tyres functioned together this year is particularly evident in the results obtained by BMW Motorrad France this season in association with MICHELIN. Together, the two firms won the 2011 French Superbike Championship and also claimed runner-up honours in the FIM Endurance World Championship. The recent Doha 8 Hours (November 12) saw BMW enjoy a performance gain of approximately one second per lap in comparison to its participation in the same race last year. It was thanks to this improvement that the BMW/MICHELIN riders were able to fight way back from 24th position after an early collision with another bike to secure second place overall at the chequered flag.

The experience acquired by MICHELIN in the course of 2011 thanks to its work with not only BMW Motorrad France but also its other partners enabled the Group to carry over advanced technologies validated in extremely exacting conditions on the racetrack to the development of new production tyres.

Indeed, 2012 will see MICHELIN bring out three new ranges of ‘racing’ tyres for track use, namely the MICHELIN Power Cup, the MICHELIN Power Slick and the MICHELIN Power Rain ranges.

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