Michelin Investigates ‘Strange’ Tyre Behavior After Bagnaia’s Rollercoaster Emilia Romagna MotoGP Performance

Michelin is set to review the data following Bagnaia's unusual race

"It's uncommon to witness strong performance initially, followed by a drop, and then a return to good performance."

Michelin stated they are 'waiting to review the information' after Francesco Bagnaia once more blamed tyre problems during Sunday's Emilia Romagna MotoGP.

The current titleholder experienced unusual tire performance for the second time in the last three race weekends.

The Ducati factory team's star rider clinched victory in the Saturday Sprint using a soft rear tire. However, he faced difficulties maintaining speed while leading the initial laps of Sunday's grand prix, as almost every other rider, except Marco Bezzecchi, opted for a medium rear tire.

Jorge Martin, a title contender, managed to shave off 0.65 seconds and subsequently 0.7 seconds per lap right after he passed Bagnaia. Bagnaia later expressed that he was struggling with rear grip during acceleration.

However, after the rear tire started performing effectively, Bagnaia surged ahead to set a new lap record and started closing the gap on Martin and Enea Bastianini.

"The back tire began functioning properly after 15 laps, which was unbelievable!" Bagnaia remarked.

Nonetheless, Bagnaia began to have difficulties with his front tire and was surprised to crash on lap 21. He mentioned that he had applied the brakes 18-20 meters earlier than his fastest lap and was still upright when the front tire locked up.

Bagnaia commented that losing control of the front end in dry conditions is highly unlikely. He noted that today’s events were very unusual, but pointed out that similar incidents had occurred twice in the last three Grand Prix. He speculated that it might happen to other riders in the upcoming race.

Bagnaia had earlier attributed his disappointing ninth-place finish in the Aragon Sprint to issues with his front tire.

Michelin pointed out that 'Pecco was… the sole racer to complete multiple laps in under 1'31, which is rather impressive'. Nonetheless, Piero Taramasso, the head of MotoGP at Michelin, concurred that the Italian's inconsistent performance was 'quite unusual'.

“It’s uncommon to witness a strong start, followed by a dip, and then a return to strong performance,” Taramasso remarked.

Addressing Pecco's remarks, Taramasso stated, "We have discussed the situation with him. Currently, we are awaiting the data analysis to determine what occurred. It's quite unusual, as he had an excellent start and led the race for four laps, maintaining the same pace as Jorge and Bastia."

“For about five or six laps, his pace dropped by two or three tenths, but by lap 12, he managed to regain his speed. His lap times were very impressive. On lap 16, he recorded the fastest lap of the race, showing a strong comeback as he aggressively aimed to close the gap with the two leaders."

“We are currently working to figure out what occurred. Once we have the data, we will definitely have a clear understanding. However, it's quite uncommon to witness strong performance initially, followed by a significant drop, and then a return to strong performance again."

Discover More

Sign Up for Our MotoGP Updates

Receive the freshest MotoGP updates, unique content, interviews, and special offers directly in your email.

For further details, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

Breaking News

Additional Reports

Site Map

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

It is prohibited to reproduce text, photos, or illustrations, whether in whole or in part, in any manner.