Valentino Rossi holds a lap record that still waits to be broken, and this weekend, it is on the verge of being surpassed in Argentina.

Back in 2015, Rossi set a time of 1m 30.019s in a race he won at Termas de Rio Hondo. That race was also infamous for a dramatic clash with Marc Marquez. That season, tensions between the two riders reached their peak.

2015 was also the final year of Bridgestone tyres in MotoGP before Michelin took over as the official supplier in 2016. Since then, most of Bridgestone’s lap records have been broken by Michelin tyres, except for a few, including records at Brno, Termas de Rio Hondo, and Phillip Island.

One of those long-standing records was already broken—Marquez’s Phillip Island record was beaten by himself in 2024. Brno’s pole record fell in 2016, but the race lap record is still unbroken.

That leaves Argentina’s Termas de Rio Hondo, where the fastest lap was set by Marquez, and the race lap record by Rossi remains untouched. However, this could change soon, as Marc Marquez already broke his own fastest lap record during Friday practice with a time of 1m 37.295s. With dry conditions expected on Sunday, Rossi’s race lap record could finally fall.

But this raises the question—why have some Bridgestone records lasted so long? One key reason is Michelin’s cautious approach after a tyre failure for Scott Redding at Termas in 2016. Additionally, unpredictable weather conditions in previous Argentine races, such as the 2023 session, have limited the chances of setting faster lap times.

Now, with Michelin introducing an improved rear tyre construction in 2024—which has already broken multiple records—the stage is set for even more new benchmarks.

“This circuit is quite unique, with an asphalt that is aggressive on tyres but paradoxically offers low grip due to the infrequent use of the track,” explained Piero Taramasso, Michelin’s motorsport manager.

“Since it has been two years since our last race here, teams will need to start from scratch when setting up their bikes, especially considering the major improvements made since then. We’ve used our data to determine the best tyre allocation, with front compounds similar to 2023 and a slightly softer Medium rear option to meet our partners’ needs.”

However, it’s important to note that official race lap records do not include times from the Sprint races.