April 22, 2008 - Jon Pearson

Michelin launches new track tyre range including an all-new 190-sized rear tyre ... Scroll down for the full story

Michelin has launched an up-dated line-up in its track tyre range for 2008. The Power Race is well established as a race and trackday weapon of choice but the line-up now includes a D-compound Power Race plus a new 190 slick.

To cut to the chase my long term Suzuki GSX-R1000 last year taught me that few tyres could last much longer than six or eight laps on track without beginning to lose rear grip. But no matter how long I kept hammering the new 190 rear slick the rear kept tracking perfectly into, around and driving consistently out of every corner.

On a 600 or 750 a huge amount of grip and confidence will turn many of us into race track gods, or at least you'll feel that way on the slick. Once warm, which doesn't take any longer than a normal track tyre, the limits are most likely you. Pushed hard over twelve or so laps (far more than most club races) I couldn't feel any dip in performance.

And don't worry about any antiquated notions of super-fast profiles or extreme narrow operating temperature ranges. Unless you get a set of Jorge Lorenzo's MotoGP slicks you'll find these feel and work almost like any normal track tyre. Only the slightly, very slightly, sharper front tyre profile gives the game away.

The smart among you will notice this here Suzuki GSX-R750 does not sport the new 190-sized rear tyre, but apart from size everything else is the same. And it is a lovely pic which is why we used it.

The D-compound Power Race joins the existing soft, medium/soft and medium compounds currently available. Or rather is a version of the medium/soft. It differs in being slightly more tuned to racing situations where heat cycles can go up and down - for instance where a race is red-flagged and you have to sit and wait before hammering into turn one again. Supply will be a little more limited to this effect.

More Michelin details here