Michelin Pilot Power 2CT named MCN Product of the Year

The Michelin’s Pilot Power 2CT was named Motor Cycle News Product of the Year at an awards ceremony held at the National Motorcycle Museum on 26 October. The entries were judged on a number of criteria including product performance levels, innovation, sales success and success in meeting the needs of the market. The Michelin Pilot Power 2CT was launched to match the ever-increasing performance of sportsbikes, and at the same time, was designed to raise the level of road tyre performance to that of a track tyre.

This was demonstrated at the launch, where MotoGP rider Colin Edwards fitted these tyres to his Yamaha M1 MotoGP bike and promptly lapped 2.4 seconds off the qualifying time from the previous year’s race. Following the launch, the sales of the tyre took-off with more than double the forecasted volume, while contributing to a large gain in overall market share.

The Pilot Power’s combination of two different rubber compounds provides many benefits in the areas of wet and dry grip, handling response and traction – and very importantly, safety. With Two-Compound Technology (2CT), the central tread band of the tyre is capable of withstanding high speeds, hard braking and acceleration, and other extreme conditions of use. The 20 per cent softer outer edges of the tread come into effect at high lean angles, offering optimal grip and quick warm-up, and thus outstanding traction when cornering.

Just 3.8 degrees is all that separates the maximum dry-surface lean angle of a MotoGP bike and that of a road bike fitted with Pilot Power 2CT tyres. The maximum lean angle is 51.2 degrees for the road bike versus 55 degrees for a MotoGP bike. This shows that the differences between top-level racing and road bikes are getting smaller.