1608 RF final

T Y R E T E S T : M I C H E L I N P O W E R C U P E V O
EVOLUTION
Michelin has an updated track focussed tyre now in their range - The Power Cup Evo, and we were
lucky enough to test it around the awesome new Kyalami Circuit at this years SA Bike Festival.
Words: Rob Portman Pics: Meghan McCabe
Michelin is a tyre brand
we know and trust very
well here at RideFast
Magazine. Having raced Mon their Power Slick EVO in last year’s
24 Hour race and this year’s 4 hour,
they were impressive as slicks as
demonstrated by our double victory.
With Michelin being back in
MotoGP, they are doing all they can
with the feedback they get from the
likes of Rossi and Marquez. They then
transfer this knowledge to the end user
out on the road or track.
A couple of years ago I tested the
first generation Power Cup Evo tyres
and to be completely honest I was not
overly impressed by them. So when
Michelin SA offered me to test the updated
version of a more track focused tyre I was
keen to see if they had managed to improve on
what was a very average tyre back then.
The test would take place at the newly revamped
Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit. Michelin
had the track booked for 45-minutes on the
opening day of the Kyalami Bike Festival. It
gave us journos the opportunity to go out and
not only test their new tyres, but also get a feel
of the new circuit layout.
Before I get onto the tyres let me just
congratulate Toby Venter and the rest of the
team at Kyalami, they have built an amazing
circuit and the new layout is challenging but
incredibly fun. It is truly a world-class facility
and it is only a matter of time before we have
world championship event here. Unfortunately
I do not think we will be privileged to host
MotoGP or WSBK anytime soon though as
the declining rand is making it very difficult to
sponsor these types of international events.
The last WSBK outing in SA cost provincial
government about 30million.
Maybe one day though… fingers crossed.
20 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE AUGUST 2016