MICHELIN BANS SOFT REAR TYRE FOR MOTEGI GRAND PRIX

Tyre choice became a major talking point at Motegi after a newly resurfaced track left MotoGP teams without recent test data to guide their decisions. Riders spent the Japanese Grand Prix weekend weighing the soft, medium and hard options, but the sprint exposed the risks of relying on limited experience.

Most of the field chose the soft rear for the 12-lap race. Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia, a regular winner at Motegi, was among them, but his tyre overheated and failed after roughly two-thirds of the sprint, forcing him to retire. Marco Bezzecchi opted for the medium after considering the heat, yet dropped to sixth and still found early signs of blistering on the rear tyre after the race. Three riders in total encountered serious trouble with the soft, while the medium also showed signs of surface damage.

Michelin said the conditions and the soft tyre’s limitations had been anticipated. Motorsport chief Piero Taramasso explained that the company had prepared specifically for the new asphalt and brought a third, harder specification because testing was not possible. Its construction has a firmer base, while the rubber compound is the same as the soft version. Michelin discussed the option with teams on Thursday and recommended it for the Grand Prix.

“We knew the soft tyre would be at its limit here in terms of temperature, and we said so before the session,” Taramasso said. Michelin’s preferred plan was the medium for the sprint and the special hard specification for the longer Grand Prix. Teams, however, largely favoured the soft for the sprint and expected to use the medium over the race distance.

Taramasso stressed that the tyres remained structurally safe across all specifications: the carcass was sufficiently robust, while heat affected the tread rubber. If a tyre spins excessively, he said, its surface can begin to open up. The issue, therefore, was not a failure of the underlying structure but the demands placed on the rubber.

Following the sprint problems, Michelin and the MotoGP group agreed to remove the soft from the available choices for Sunday’s Grand Prix. Michelin strongly recommended its special hard option, although the final decision between that and the medium remained with each rider and team.

The promoter also changed Sunday’s schedule to give riders more time to assess the recommended tyre. The warm-up was extended from its usual duration to 20 minutes, allowing teams an additional opportunity to prepare before the Japanese Grand Prix.