Revamping MotoGP: Should Tyre Pressure Warnings Be Reintroduced to Restore Penalty System Confidence?

Should MotoGP reintroduce the tyre pressure alert?

Could issuing an official alert for a 'near miss' in tyre pressure violations help rebuild trust in MotoGP's penalty framework?

The intricate tyre pressure rules in MotoGP came under scrutiny again after three riders were put under investigation following last Sunday’s Indonesian Grand Prix.

Two riders, Pedro Acosta (who placed 2nd) and Brad Binder (who placed 8th), were ultimately cleared. However, Takaaki Nakagami (who finished 11th) was found to have not met the requirement of completing 60% of race laps above the minimum pressure.

The discussion about whether Acosta's leaking wheel rim justified avoiding a penalty has been extensively discussed. However, no reasons were provided for Binder's exoneration, though it appears that KTM's data after the race showed he was following the rules.

Despite this, Nakagami became the 16th competitor to be penalized after a race in the current season, which has spanned 15 rounds and 30 races so far. Just a day before, Raul Fernandez had been the 15th rider to face such a penalty during the Mandalika Sprint.

Should this average persist, it could lead to five additional penalties in the next five rounds, potentially affecting both race results and the championship outcome.

With Mandalika being just the first of the international races, some are concerned that the higher unpredictability compared to European events might lead to a significant rise in the rate of penalties under pressure.

In the previous year, there were 17 instances of tyre pressure violations across seven international events leading up to the final round in Valencia.

Nevertheless, because the initial infraction resulted in a formal warning, only one penalty was given after the race during that period. The absolute nature of the warning acted as a "free pass," prompting teams to test boundaries until they faced the threat of a real time penalty.

After confirming the dependability of the new real-time pressure monitoring system, the advisory for 2024 was lifted.

Penalties given after a race have been increased from last year's progressive scale of 3 seconds, 6 seconds, and 9 seconds for each violation after a warning, to 8 seconds for a Sprint and 16 seconds in a grand prix for each infraction in 2024.

Two competitors missed out on podium finishes because their tire pressures were too low: Fabio di Giannantonio in Valencia 2023 and Fabio Quartararo in the Jerez Sprint this year.

Acosta faced the risk of being the third in a sequence, a scenario that would have impacted the MotoGP championship battle. Francesco Bagnaia would have secured the second position at Mandalika, narrowing the gap to race victor and championship frontrunner Jorge Martin by four points.

Tire pressure plays a crucial role in both performance and safety, and there is consensus that a certain minimum pressure must be maintained. However, the challenge lies in the fact that pressure levels change throughout a race and are difficult to foresee.

For instance, thanks to an unusual nine riders dropping out on Sunday, Nakagami enjoyed a more comfortable ride in clear air, trailing Raul Fernandez by 6.6 seconds and maintaining a 6.0-second lead over Alex Rins.

The solitary race likely led to reduced tire pressure. In contrast, Nakagami, who began in 18th place, ended the Sprint race on Saturday only 0.399 seconds behind the competitor in front of him.

A comparable situation might arise if a racer beginning from the back of the lineup suddenly took the lead in the race and, even more surprisingly, started to increase their gap from the others.

A notification on the dashboard could have warned Nakagami that he was at risk of not completing the required 60% of the race laps on Sunday.

However, the only way he could catch a slipstream to warm up the front tire was to pull to the side and wait for six seconds. This would have made the tires even colder and further reduced the pressure.

Many people prefer a more straightforward method compared to the existing real-time measurement system, which determines the average tire pressure for each lap. A lap is considered 'compliant' if the average pressure is at least 1.8 bar for the front tires and 1.68 bar for the rear tires.

The increasing availability of real-time data might enable the establishment of a compulsory minimum starting pressure in the future.

In the meantime, should MotoGP think about bringing back an official warning for a first violation, provided that it can only be issued if a rider is nearing the minimum threshold?

Put simply, create a margin that is large enough to serve as a buffer for unexpected events, yet narrow enough to deter any team from intentionally using the warning as a loophole, as was the case in 2024.

The specific statistics regarding the success and failure rates of laps concerning tire pressure are not disclosed, leaving us uncertain about how near each penalized rider was to meeting the legal requirements. However, it is possible that manufacturers could come to a consensus on an approach such as:

An official warning will be given only if at least 55% of the grand prix laps comply with the rules.

The scope could be broadened to consider unexpected situations such as being pushed off the track, having an accident and getting back on, or experiencing a major decrease in air or track temperature during a race.

While this kind of warning might not have been sufficient to assist Nakagami directly, it could be adjusted to a point that minimizes 'near-miss' infractions. This, in turn, could potentially decrease the chances of the 2024 championship being determined after the race has concluded…

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