Michelin One Year in Review: The Final Report] What is the overall evaluation of the "MICHELIN POWER GP2"? We asked Tetsuya Harada, who has driven the car for one season! Video

PR】 MICHELIN

The MICHELIN POWER GP2, whose development concept is "50% circuit, 50% street", is a tire that combines the sporty performance of the circuit with the performance required on the street at a high dimension. In this project, Tetsuya Harada, the 1993 WGP250 champion, will be using the POWER GP2 for a whole season for his long-term impressions of the tire. What kind of judgment will the world champion give to the POWER GP2?

Summary: Keisuke Asakura Photos: Atsushi Sekino / Keisuke Asakura

This was almost a circuit-only test...

First of all, this is the final installment of my three-part series of impressions of the MICHELIN POWER GP2 over the course of a season. I had originally planned to run the GP2 on the circuit and on the street, but due to work commitments this year, I have been unable to go touring most of the time, so I regret that my street impressions have been insufficient. I am sorry that I could not do enough impressions on the street, but I was able to try out various situations on the circuit.

The first time the POWER GP2 was installed was in March of this year. Since the temperature was still low and the track surface temperature was still low, we were concerned about the warm-up performance. I was impressed once again by the high warm-up performance of the POWER GP2. I had a private lesson at that time of the year, and the temperature was 7 or 8 degrees Celsius, and it was wet, which was the worst condition. In such a situation, no one would trust the grip of tires, but I was strongly impressed by the fact that the POWER GP2 tires gave me a solid feeling of grip as soon as I started driving. The student who took the lesson also had POWER GP2 tires, and he felt the same way as I did, so there is no doubt that the warm-up performance is excellent. The POWER GP2 is resistant to both low temperatures and rain, so if you can't change tires to suit the conditions, the POWER GP2 is a strong weapon. [/caption

Unusual? Excellent abrasion resistance

The excellent abrasion resistance is another noteworthy feature. When high-grip tires are used on a circuit, their life often ends in a matter of seconds. That is how much load is placed on tires in circuit sports driving, and the POWER GP2 is excellent in this respect. The BMW M1000R we are using for testing is a super naked car with a maximum output of 218ps. High-powered vehicles are more aggressive on tires, but even after more than 1,000 km on the circuit, the performance is still good enough to be used on the track. Of course, they will wear and their performance will decline compared to new tires, but the decline is very gradual. Among high-grip tires, I feel that it has unusually good wear resistance. In fact, we switched to the second set of POWER GP2 tires when we had traveled about 1,400 km, because our test vehicle, an M1000R, had undergone a model change and we had to use the newer model. The reason is that the bike is new and the tires are new ......, not because the performance of the tires has declined*. Even with this second set of tires, I have traveled about 1,300 km, which means that I have traveled about 2,700 km in total on the POWER GP2. *: The reason for the change was that Mr. Harada had to pull a student with slick tires in his lesson.

The best option if you can do everything with one.

I have many opportunities to drive on circuits in my work as an impressionist and instructor. I love to play with motorcycles, so I also go touring in my private life (although I haven't been able to enjoy touring at all this year...). Considering my motorcycle life like that, I think the POWER GP2 is the best tire for me. On the track, its performance is high enough in terms of grip and handling, and its warm-up performance is outstanding. On the street, it has good wet grip for sudden rain, and its wear resistance is exceptionally long-lasting for a high-grip tire. If I could change tires as easily as a works racing team, I would probably choose another tire. If I were to drive on a circuit, I would choose POWER CUP2, which has more racy characteristics among MICHELIN tires. It has a higher absolute grip. If you are only riding on streets such as touring, I would choose POWER 6. It is a tire with high gap absorption, so it does not tire the rider easily. But in the current situation, where we want to do everything with one bike, we think the POWER GP2 is the best option in the field. That is my conclusion after riding with the POWER GP2 for one season this year.

Over 10,000 km and still able to drive on the circuit?

This time, we visited the "RIDING PARTY," a circuit track day organized by "Riders Club," a motorcycle magazine of which Mr. Harada is the editor-in-chief. RIDING PARTY is an open circuit event with the motto, "Fast is not good! The majority of the participants are riding their regular street bikes, and most of them drive to and from the circuit on their own.

I have always been a touring enthusiast, and if I get a long holiday, I always go on a long touring trip. The POWER GP2 I'm using now was installed about six months ago, and I've already driven 13,000 km. Most of the time I go touring, and of course it rains, but I have never felt uneasy on wet road surfaces. Actually, I started participating in circuit driving events this year. I enjoyed it so much that I participated in all the RIDING PARTY events held this year. I think it is time to replace the POWER GP2, but at my pace, I feel it has more than enough performance. The grip especially at half bank is very reliable. I can attack with confidence. Also, the center portion does not wear down easily. I think that's why it has a long life even when used for long tours."

The power GP2 is perfect for Mr. Harada's use, and its wear resistance over 10,000 km has also been proven!

Tetsuya Harada used the POWER GP2 for a whole season. His conclusion was that it was perfect for his usage, "I enjoy touring as well as frequent circuit driving. He also said that even after 13,000 km of driving, no slip signs were visible and that the performance was maintained well enough. Both world champions and regular users have recognized the value of the MICHELIN POWER GP2, so why not try it on your own car?

MICHELIN POWER GP2 - Tetsuya Harada's long-term impression

Image Gallery (15)

Michelin One Year in Review: The Final Report] What is the overall evaluation of the "MICHELIN POWER GP2"? We asked Tetsuya Harada, who has driven the car for one season! Video

2025.12.22

PR】 MICHELIN The MICHELIN POWER GP2, whose development concept is "50% circuit, 50% street", is a tire that combines the sporty performance of the cir...