Michelin and the MotoGP™ paddock have returned from the mid-season break and are now preparing for the second-half of the season which kicks off with the Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky at the Automotodrom Brno in the Czech Republic.

Following the pause in MotoGP activity, the field returns to face the second back-to-back weekend in a row, as the championship travels directly to Austria following this weekend in Brno. Before the trip across the border and a date with the Red Bull Ring, Michelin and the riders face the 5,403m Masaryk Circuit and the 10th round of the season. Built in woodland just outside the city of Brno, the track is one that has constant changes of elevation, hard-braking zones, fast sweeping corners and acceleration areas to test tyres, riders and the bikes to the limit. With these factors to consider the range of MICHELIN Power Slick tyres will be supplied to match these demands. The soft, medium and hard front slicks will be a symmetrical design, whilst the same selection of rears will feature an asymmetric finish, with a harder right-hand-side to cope with the eight corners that go in that direction, as opposed to only six that go to the left.

Automotodrom Brno is located close to the borders of Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland in the south-east of the Czech Republic. It’s the most eastern European race of the year and always has a large and vociferous crowd that pack the hillsides and grandstands around the venue. Originally a street circuit, it is now an enclosed track, which was purpose built in 1987 and even features a golf course within its confines.

Brno is a venue that can witness very differing weather patterns throughout the weekend and even though the event is held in August there is always a chance of rain, as was shown on race-day in 2016 and 2017, when both races were declared wet. With this possibility the range of MICHELIN Power Rain tyres will be available in soft and medium compounds for the front and rear, with the rears featuring an asymmetric design, with the harder right-hand-side the same as the slick versions.

Michelin and the MotoGP field will get back into track action on Friday 2nd August with two Free Practice sessions. Saturday will have two more practice periods, followed by Qualifying in the afternoon to decide grid position for Sunday’s 21-lap race. The main event will see the lights go out to signal the start of the race and the second part of this enthralling season at 14.00hrs local time (14.00hrs CEST, 13.00hrs BST, 12.00hrs GMT) on Sunday 4th August.

Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager:

“It’s always good to have a break, but it’s even better to get back to racing. Brno is a big test for the tyres, it is quite complex and features a big change in elevation from the lowest part of the track to the highest. It has many demanding sections that require the tyres to work in many different ways, heavy braking, hard acceleration and an array of different corners that give varying levels of stress and load to the side of the tyres. We have a range of slicks that we know will work well here and the added performance from the compounds we introduced this year will be ideally suited to this track. We are hoping for the best weather conditions, but if it does rain we know that the wets perform very well here, so we are expecting a good race, no matter what happens.”