BEZZECCHI DEFENDS MEDIUM REAR TYRE CHOICE AFTER JAPANESE SPRINT STRUGGLES

Marco Bezzecchi’s decision to use a medium rear tyre in the Japanese Grand Prix Sprint looked costly once the Aprilia rider began losing ground to rivals on the soft. He nevertheless said the choice made sense based on the information available before the race, even though the result did not support it.

Starting fourth, Bezzecchi moved up to third by Turn 3, passing Pedro Acosta. Acosta was later taken out by Alex Marquez before the end of the opening sector. Bezzecchi then slipped backwards as the soft-tyre runners found more pace early on. The medium was expected to offer an advantage later in the half-distance race, but that benefit never appeared: Bezzecchi said he was about a second slower than he had expected.

Bezzecchi was one of only two riders to choose Michelin’s medium rear, alongside Jack Miller of Pramac Yamaha. He said he had no answer for why he was “one second too slow” in the Sprint despite showing strong pace on the same tyre in practice.

His decision followed a strong showing on the medium in FP2. Bezzecchi had been concerned about rear-tyre temperature the previous day, so the team wanted to assess another option. “With the medium this morning I was feeling good, I was riding quite fast,” he said. That pace, along with the prospect of reducing temperature risk, persuaded him to choose it for the Sprint.

“On paper, for myself, it was the right choice. Then, with the result, it’s not the right choice,” Bezzecchi said. He expected to have to manage the opening laps, but felt confident after that. He stressed that the call was considered rather than a gamble made because he lacked pace. The contrast between his FP2 performance and the Sprint remained unexplained; he said he would rather check the data before drawing conclusions.

Tyre concerns could also shape Sunday’s race. Michelin had brought a hard rear with a heat-resistant construction, similar to the one used in Austria, as a precaution for Motegi’s new surface. Some soft tyres lost pieces of rubber from the centre during the Sprint, raising the possibility that the hard could be made compulsory for the Grand Prix.

Bezzecchi said his medium had not looked too worn after the Sprint, but cautioned that 12 laps on it would still be a significant step into the unknown. He said he would follow Michelin’s guidance and assess the medium if it remained an option. “If they choose this, I will agree because it’s mandatory,” he said of a possible hard-tyre requirement, adding that he would make his own evaluation if riders were allowed to choose.