Michelin’s MotoGP™ debut at the Red Bull Ring in Austria produced a thrilling race during the NeroGiardini Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, which saw Ducati’s Andrea Iannone take his first premier class win at the Spielberg track.

Starting from pole position, Iannone was the only rider to choose the new medium compound rear MICHELIN Power Slick, which had been especially developed for the Austrian circuit following a recent test held there. The Italian got the holeshot and led for most of the first-lap until Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) passed him just before they crossed the stripe for the first time. An incredible battle then ensued at the front, as those two were joined by four more riders in the shape of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha), Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) and Maverick Viñales (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR). With all the riders battling for positions it wasn’t long before the lead changed hands as Dovizioso reeled in his team-mate on lap-10. The Italian – who today became the youngest rider to make 250 Grand Prix starts – held the lead for 10 more laps until he was hunted down by Iannone and passed on lap-21. Despite Dovizioso’s best efforts, Iannone used his Michelin tyres to great effect in the closing stages as he recorded the race’s fastest lap on the 24th circulation and almost bettered it on the final lap to further confirm the durability of the latest compounds. He brought his Ducati home in front of Dovizioso to give Ducati its first MotoGP victory since 2010 and the Italian marque’s first one-two since 2007. Iannone’s victory also made him the fifth different MotoGP winner this season, a feat that hasn’t happened since 2009.

Behind the front two the battle was just as intriguing as the Yamaha’s of Lorenzo and Rossi stayed in close contention throughout the 28-lap race. Lorenzo just got the better of his team-mate to secure the final podium position, with current championship leader Marquez taking fifth, just in front of Viñales. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) took seventh, with Scott Redding (OCTO Pramac Yakhnich) racing to eighth and the position of First Independent Team Rider. The top-10 was rounded out by Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3). Michelin’s new tyres also saw the race completed without a single rider crashing, as the only incident that saw a faller was due to one rider hitting another.

Today’s event was held in clear and sunny conditions with track temperatures reaching 46°C, a statistic that further underlines the tyres’ all-round performance on this technical and abrasive circuit. A crowd of 95,000 packed the circuit, taking the total of spectators to almost 216,000, making this the biggest race weekend of the season so far.

Michelin and the rest of the MotoGP field now makes the short trip to the neighbouring Czech Republic as it heads to Brno for the second race in this double-header and round 11 of the championship on Sunday 21st August.

Andrea Iannone – Ducati Team: “Michelin has worked very well from the test that we had here and they changed the tyres to give us ones that are very strong and had competitive grip, so I am very happy with that. Always this year, race-by-race, test-by-test and step-by-step Michelin has improved and they are coming better all the time, which is good for everybody.”

Nicolas Goubert – Deputy Director, Technical Director and Supervisor of the MotoGP Programme: “We are very pleased with the weekend here in Spielberg, it has been very positive and showed that our tyres work well in many different conditions. At the start of the weekend on Friday it was very cold with track temperatures of 15°C, but for today’s race it was almost 50°C and our tyres reacted very well. Today’s race was always believed to be a dual between the Ducatis – and so it proved – but the two Yamaha’s closed the gap over the weekend, so it made for a very competitive and interesting afternoon. To see the fastest laps recorded towards the end is testament to what we are doing and to have a 28-lap race in those conditions without a single crash due to tyres, is also an extremely positive indication of the direction we are going in. We now move to Brno where we have some new tyres which we will be using for the first time since the test at Barcelona and we hope that these will give yet another step in performance and provide the riders with even better traction.”

venue: Witton Castle Country Park, Witton-Le-Wear, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL14 0DE
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Half-a-million people have taken IAM RoadSmart’s advanced test for car or bike over the past six decades – that’s as the leading UK road safety charity reaches its 60th anniversary this week.

The advanced driving and riding courses are regarded as two of the most comprehensive post-test courses in the UK and have been definitively shown to improve driving and riding skills.

Current figures show that around 500,000 people have taken the charity’s advanced courses to date in the UK.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) as it was known until earlier this year was established in 1956, based on the police’s Roadcraft manual. At that point annual road death figures in the UK stood at 5,000 a year.

In 1962 the IAM introduced the first test for commercial vehicle drivers and 1986 saw it launch fleet training for businesses. In 1994 it enrolled its 250,000th member.

The advanced test assists drivers and riders in becoming more aware of other road users, how to adapt to different conditions, to read the road ahead, and enjoy driving and riding more.

Independent research revealed 70% of those who received driver coaching showed significantly better skills in key areas such as cornering, speeding and hazard anticipation.

Today slightly over 1,700 people are year are killed on UK roads – a figure IAM RoadSmart is determined to reduce further by helping to improve the road skills of private and commercial drivers and riders and by its lobbying work within government.

Nigel Mansell CBE, IAM RoadSmart president and 1992 Formula 1 World Champion said: “The real heroes of the road are those who show that skill, precision and flair on everyday roads while doing it for the safety of themselves and those around them.

“Taking the advanced driver or rider course turns good drivers into great drivers. Those who have chosen to take their skills to the next level show they have commitment and staying power. They are the real champions.”

Earlier in the year the Institute of Advanced Motorists rebranded to become IAM RoadSmart as it prepares for the next 60 years and to appeal to the next generation of drivers.

IAM RoadSmart recently appointed the Under 17 Car Club as an accredited course provider. Getting the good driving message should come long before a young person reaches their 17th birthday.

For more information about the advanced driver course click here

Currently IAM RoadSmart is offering a 10% discount off the Advanced Driver Course simply by calling 0300 303 1134 and quoting the reference RACE10. All bookings made this way will also be entered into a prize draw to win an exciting session for two on a racing simulator at Base Performance Simulators in Banbury.

Nigel Mansell CBE, IAM RoadSmart president and 1992 Formula 1 World Champion

From Tony Parnham - I am a motorbike rider of many years with an advanced riding certificate and a member of Blood bike Wales. With more traffic users on the roads each year. I find there to be the downturn/deterioration of courtesy and common sense within road users, more and more road users do not give way and sadly selfishly blocks the way of motorbike users during slow moving or stationary traffic.

Sign this petition

At 10,000 signatures, government will respond to this petition and with 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.

BRADL AND BAUTISTA'S RS-GP MACHINES ON THE SEVENTH ROW

Sunday at the Red Bull Ring promises to be fiery, and not only because of the temperatures that are back to pleasant summer values. On the second day of practice on the Austrian circuit, the MotoGP riders saw their times drop as the conditions improved, as well as the gaps: just over 2 seconds separated the first from the last in the FP3 and FP4 standings, with an extremely compact ranking, especially in the central pack.
These are positions just outside of the top 10 for which the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders are battling.

On one of the most difficult circuits because of the characteristics of the RS-GP, Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl worked mainly in view of the race. The goal is to manage to maintain a consistent pace, setting up the bike so that it is easy to ride and stable in the violent Austrian braking sections.
In qualifying, the Aprilia riders had to reckon with the difficulty of expressing the potential they had demonstrated on the flying lap, for example, in terms of race pace. In particular, Bautista lost tenths in the more flowing section, a direct consequence of a setting oriented more toward stability than handling. Bradl, on the other hand, had to face a less than perfect feeling in braking.

Both Alvaro and Stefan will work on these parameters with the Aprilia technicians as they look for solutions to test in the warm up that will allow them, in the race, to improve on the 19th and 21st positions they achieved in qualifying, placing both of them on the seventh row.

ALVARO BAUTISTA
"Tomorrow anything could happen. On a track where overtaking is complicated, the start is crucial. From a physical point of view, this is not a circuit that creates particular problems, so we'll need to push throughout the entire race, maintaining a good pace. From this point of view, I am satisfied with the work we've done so far. The gaps behind the top 10 are extremely close and we are in a good position in terms of pace. Even the improvements to power are small but tangible along the entire output range. For tomorrow we will try to improve the ride: when you set up a stable bike, inevitably you lose something in handling, so we will try to find a good compromise".‬

STEFAN BRADL
"Compared to yesterday we were able to work much better, thanks in part to the improved conditions. I am still struggling to get the bike stopped the way I would like to. We knew that it would not be easy on this track, but looking at the gaps, I think that with another step forward in terms of setup, the situation could improve. We will try to work on braking during warm up. Right now it seems like this is the phase that is limiting us the most. For us, every weekend is a race unto itself. With a completely new bike like the RS-GP and particular circuit like this one, we need time to put all the pieces of the puzzle in the right place".‬