MOTEGI TYRE DEBATE: THE HARD COMPOUND EMERGED AS THE SURPRISE BEST CHOICE

MotoGP riders said they had overlooked the hard tyre during practice at the Japanese Grand Prix, despite it proving the strongest choice for the race. Marc Marquez, who won, said the reinforced-casing tyre might even have been the best option for qualifying: “We could have used the hard tyre for qualifying!” It had initially been treated only as a contingency.

Fabio Quartararo said riders had been “a bit stupid” not to consider the hard rear tyre sooner. Almost all had raced on the soft in Saturday’s Sprint, but Michelin removed it from Sunday’s allocation after overheating caused blistering and chunks of rubber to break away from the centre. Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia both finished the Sprint with tyre damage, while several other riders also reported blistering. Martin’s bike was damaged when rubber came off his tyre.

The problems prompted crisis talks, and Sunday’s Warm Up was extended from 10 minutes to 20 to give riders time to try the hard, which had not been used in practice. Michelin had warned that the medium could be risky, and every rider chose the hard for the Grand Prix after testing it. The damage was attributed to Motegi’s newly resurfaced, particularly abrasive track surface; Michelin had anticipated increased wear and brought a special hard tyre for the circuit.

Quartararo said the hard might also have suited the time attack, particularly for his Yamaha. The bike had been pumping in several corners on the soft, he explained, while the hard’s casing reduced that movement and could have allowed the team to use more power. “Nobody used it and at the end was the best tyre,” he said. “A bit crazy.”

Michelin chief Piero Taramasso said teams had made the wrong call by not testing the hard earlier. “It was clear that they got it wrong, and it is a good lesson for the races to come,” he said.

Aprilia boss Massimo Rivola, however, disputed that the teams alone were responsible, arguing Michelin should have provided clearer guidance about the risk. He said Martin had returned from the Sprint with “half the tyre”, Bagnaia had retired, and other riders had significant blisters. Rivola warned that the damage could worsen over the longer Grand Prix distance and said Aprilia had pushed for a change on safety grounds. “We faced this situation and this danger head-on from a safety perspective and pushed to change things,” he said. He added that the hard was “clearly the safest tyre”, but said he wanted Michelin to reach such a decision without a team having to press for it.

Rivola also believed the medium should have been banned, saying riders using it had experienced blistering too. He said some rival teams had been willing to race without a ban on the soft, and argued that the medium could eventually develop the same problem. Michelin did not consider a mandatory hard-tyre rule necessary.

Jack Miller, who had suffered severe blistering on the medium in the Sprint, said he had expected the hard to be compulsory. After trying it in Warm Up, he wondered, “Where’s that been all weekend?” He said riders had avoided it because it had historically been a poor choice, even though it worked “amazing, mega” at Motegi. Miller hoped the reinforced tyre would perform similarly at the next round in Indonesia, where Michelin planned to use the reinforced construction across the rear allocation.

Miller’s race was also hampered by tyre pressures. Starting 20th, he said pressure rose sharply while he was running in traffic, causing heavy locking and making his Yamaha “unrideable”. “We start so safe on pressures that it’s ridiculous,” he said, urging Pramac Yamaha to be more aggressive with its pre-race settings. He had run consistent 1:44 laps in Warm Up, but struggled to get below 1:45 in the race. Miller crashed on lap 19 of 24; after rejoining in clear air, he said the rear tyre behaved better as it cooled and its pressure fell.

The Frenchman also had to manage a fuel problem from lap seven, limiting throttle use to around 70 per cent in several sections, including the straights. He said he could have gone faster but had to conserve fuel, even while riding in Brad Binder’s slipstream. “I’m happy with my riding and I think it’s the most important,” Quartararo said, adding that the issue was unexpected so early in the race.

The tyre allocation had been discussed before the weekend: on Thursday, Jack Miller was asked about Michelin’s three dry-weather choices—the soft, medium and hard, the last with a stiffer casing.