BRITISH GP TYRE STRATEGY FOCUSES ON MEDIUM REAR AFTER SPRINT DROP

After a Saturday Sprint that exposed how quickly rear tyres can fall off, attention in Sunday’s British MotoGP has turned sharply to tyre management—especially with the medium rear. The grid’s selection has been simplified by the Sprint’s major rear-tyre drop, with all riders expected to run the medium rather than the soft for the grand prix.

Pramac’s Jack Miller, one of only two riders to choose the medium for the ten-lap Sprint (alongside KTM’s Brad Binder), finished as the top Yamaha rider in 13th. Speaking after warm-up, Miller pointed to the positive signs from the second half of the Sprint and the need to carry that momentum into the longer race. “We had a strong second half of the sprint race yesterday, so fingers crossed with some more laps today we can work our way forward a little bit more and hopefully in those points-paying positions,” he said.

However, Miller also stressed that the medium rear over a full 20-lap grand prix will be far from straightforward. He described the challenge bluntly: “I mean, the tyre [management] is going to be a nightmare, I think, for everybody. We’ve got to try and manage it the best of our ability.” He added that Silverstone can punish riders who overcook their pace, particularly when exiting the final corner and onto the straights. “Silverstone's a track where it can creep up on you. You can get a little bit carried away [with the throttle] through the old last corner, and onto the straights. If you get a little bit happy-handed with it, it'll bite you in the arse.”

Miller’s Sprint data suggested the medium rear was more consistent than the soft: his best and worst laps on the medium differed by less than one second. By contrast, Marc Marquez’s factory Ducati suffered severe soft-rear degradation in the Sprint, producing a 4.5-second spread between his best and worst laps.

Marquez, who narrowly held on to the final point in ninth, said the Sprint had been “unexpected” for his team, with the tyre drop arriving earlier than anticipated. “Of course, it will be interesting because yesterday was an unexpected Sprint race for us,” he said. “The drop of the tyre was coming very [early]. So let's see today if we can manage in a different way.” He identified the rear tyre as the central factor and set his goal around improving how they handle it compared with Saturday. “The key point will be the rear tyre. Try to understand if we can manage better than yesterday and then try to fight for that top five positions.”

Warm-up form added context to the task ahead: Marquez was third fastest behind Alex Marquez and Trackhouse Aprilia’s Raul Fernandez. Meanwhile, Sprint winner and pole qualifier Jorge Martin—also the World Championship leader—was ninth after the Sprint.