MICHELIN POWER RACE
15 February 2005 - Michelin Tyre plc

Michelin invents the first road-legal multi-compound racing tyre

Until now, could anybody have conceived of a commercially available hypersport
bike tyre that wasn’t uniformly black and identical from shoulder to shoulder?
Clearly not. But now it seems that “things ain’t what they used to be”, because
Michelin has proudly launched the new Michelin Power Race, the first-ever
dual-compound racing tyre approved for road use.

The tyre’s revolutionary Two-Compound Technology (2CT) represents yet another
leap forward in the development of commercial motorcycle tyres, following the
introduction of radial technology in 1987 and of silica-reinforcement in 1999.

To deliver these technological breakthroughs, they’ve developed a consistent
two-pronged strategy:
- Leveraging the progress in basic research conducted at our three technology
centres, funded at 4.5 per cent of consolidated sales. These findings are
incorporated into all their motorcycle, car, heavy truck, aviation, earthmover and
bicycle tyres.
- Sharing skills and supporting extensive synergy between racing performance and
our commercial lines.

Since January 2004, the gap between track and road tyres has been significantly
narrowed by the Michelin Pilot Power, a commercial tyre made of materials identical to those used in the highest performance racing tyres. Today, the Michelin Power Race has established new, stronger ties between these two worlds, bringing them closer together than ever before.

- Like MotoGP tyres, the Michelin Power Race tread comprises two distinct zones,
with the possibility of using different rubber compounds for the shoulders and
the centre (hence the name Two-Compound).
- Michelin Power Racetyres feature compounds that are exactly the same as
those used in MotoGP tyres.
- Michelin Power Racetyres are made using exactly the same manufacturing
technology as MotoGP tyres.

Thanks to the Michelin Power Race, road bikers can now legally purchase, for the
first time, a hypersport tyre using different compounds in the centre and the
shoulders to respond to the different kinds of stress placed on a motorcycle tyre’s
contact patch.

www.michelin.co.uk

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