The track’s kinship with the Austrian GP venue was such that Michelin pulled out the Red Bull Ring rear tyre design for the Thai race as well.

Tyre chief Piero Taramasso explained that after experiencing very high tyre temperatures at the pre-season test, the French company had produced a special Thai tyre.

“It uses the same harder-construction carcase as in Austria, and the compounds are slightly different also from the test,” he said.

Because of the difficult conditions, the usual allocation of three different types of rear tyre had been expanded to four, complicating the task of riders and engineers to assess all the possible rubber combinations in the limited time available in practice and qualifying.

By Michael Scott

Photos GnG