Track tested

Michelin Road 5 Used for: 3 months Price: £236 per pair Info: moto.michelin.co.uk

Impressed, I was, as I whacked open the throttle for another corner exit one hazy afternoon at Rockingham Motor Race Track Speed Drome. Impressed, because the tyres gently melting below weren’t racing slicks. They were simple sport-touring things. Remember the Pilot Road 3s? They were the first Michelins to incorporate sipes, those tiny lines in the tyre tread. Two generations on, and the design has evolved. They’ve toned down the siping (not a real word) to increase rigidity, and pulled the tread away from the tyre wall. This means better grip and firmer feel at deep lean. No sign of the early squaring off the 3s were infamous for, either. Simple sport-touring things? Not so simple after all.