Pramac’s Jack Miller says he can “almost guarantee” that Michelin will mandate the untested hard tyre for the Japanese Grand Prix after several MotoGP riders faced severe tyre degradation in the sprint.
The main talking point after Saturday’s half-distance race was tyre wear, with Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia in particular suffering severe drop-off on the soft rubber.
Aprilia rider Martin was fortunate to hold on to a podium finish after losing over a second on the final lap, but his last-gasp effort to fend off Tech3’s Enea Bastianini cost him a position as he went over the white line at the exit of Turn 10.
Meanwhile, TV images captured the middle of Bagnaia’s rear tyre completely delaminating, forcing him to pull into the pits with a lap to run.
However, those on the soft tyres weren’t the only ones affected, with Marco Bezzecchi mysteriously lacking pace on the more durable medium and Miller reporting heavy blistering on the same compound.
As one of the only two MotoGP riders to have raced with the medium on Saturday, Miller thinks Michelin might be left with no option but to make the hard tyre mandatory for the grand prix.
“I went for the medium option. It had blisters all over it. So yeah, it will be hard tomorrow for all of us,” he said.
“I went to the medium simply just because I like the stability of it more than anything.
The grip difference [to the soft] wasn’t massive for us. We don’t get a massive boost of edge grip or braking support from the soft as some of the other manufacturers do.
“So, I opted for the medium. It was still working well, especially on the right-hand side. But in the centre of the tyre she was pretty blistered out. Like, a lot.
“Not Pecco level, but not far. So, we’ll all be on the hard tomorrow. I can almost guarantee it.”
With the Motegi circuit having been resurfaced completely since last year’s race, Michelin brought new tyres that were a step stiffer than last year. The French manufacturer has also given riders the option to run the hard tyre, which features the same reinforced casing as featured at Spielberg.
However, given how the opinion on the stiffer construction tyre was split in Thailand and Austria, all riders opted against running the hard so far this weekend.
Heading into the weekend, Miller even half-jokingly said that he would “pack up and go home” if he had to run the hard tyre, saying it was not an “option” for riders at Motegi.
But with the situation having changed since then, the Australian expects a push to make Sunday’s warm-up longer to let everyone sample the hard rear, should it be made compulsory for the grand prix.
Alex Rins, Yamaha Factory Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
“I know Max [Bartolini, Yamaha technical director] was going to ask for a 20-minute warm-up if we have to, just to sort of understand, because the map’s going to be completely different,” he said.
“All the work we’ve done throughout the whole weekend is going to be completely wrong. We’ll have to try and adapt as quick as possible tomorrow morning.”
Asked whether Sunday’s race could turn into a lottery, he added: “I think so.
“You know what would be better? If it rained and then we wouldn’t have to worry about it. But I looked at the weather forecast. I’ll go to bed tonight praying, but it ain’t coming.”
Not all riders affected
However, while some riders did report high degradation on soft (and medium) tyres, the problem wasn’t witnessed across the board.
Most KTM riders had no real issues getting through the end of the race, while sprint winner Marc Marquez suggested soft was still an option for the grand prix.
Factory Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo, running the same bike as Miller, even said he would prefer to race with the softest of the three available compounds.
“I don’t know what Michelin will decide with the tyres,” he said, referring to the uncertainty in the paddock. “For me, the soft will make the race, to be honest.
“If we have the choice, I think I will choose the soft for the race. But let’s see what the plan is.”
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