Marc Marquez — Repsol Honda Team:
“Really happy to be World Champion! Two years of Michelin and two world titles, this is a good thing for me. In the first part of the season it was quite difficult to understand the limit of the tyres, but then Michelin did an incredible job and solved all these issues and all the riders really started to enjoy riding. The season has been amazing and all the team and staff at Michelin helped me a lot and I want to say thanks, especially to Patrick — the guy that helps me in the box — because he retired today, and he was someone very special.”
Nicolas Goubert — Deputy Director, Technical Director and Supervisor of the MotoGP Programme:
“Today has seen another demonstration of what we have been trying to achieve since we returned to MotoGP last year, and that is to give as much choice as possible to all the riders and manufacturers at every race to allow them to be able to choose tyres that will work on race day, no matter the riders’ style. That was highlighted by the first four all using different configurations today and five of the six compounds being used throughout the field. It was again an exciting and absorbing race and we congratulate Marc on his championship and all the other riders for such an entertaining season.
“I also want to send my thanks to all at Michelin and all the riders and teams I have worked with during my time in MotoGP, it has been a fantastic journey and I have enjoyed my 28-years at Michelin and have been able to be involved in many great things within the company. I am leaving the MotoGP project in safe hands with Piero and the rest of the team and I am sure it will continue to go from strength-to-strength.”
Michelin saw a dramatic climax to the second season since its return to MotoGP™ as Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) took the riders championship while his team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) won the race to give Honda a clean sweep of the championships at today’s Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana at Valencia in Spain.
Michelin again saw its range of Power Slick tyres utilised to almost the full extent of the available compounds, with five of the six versions being used in various configurations. The top-three all shod their respective machines with different selections, as Pedrosa went for a hard front and medium rear MICHELIN Power Slick, Zarco went for the soft front and rear options, whilst Marquez chose the hard front and soft rear pairing, again demonstrating the different choice available to all riders and manufacturers.