Reviving the Tyre Pressure Warning in MotoGP: A Strategy to Restore Confidence and Fairness in Racing Penalties

Is it time for MotoGP to reintroduce tyre pressure alerts?

Could issuing a formal caution for a close call regarding tyre pressure violations rebuild trust in MotoGP's penalty framework?

The intricate rules surrounding tyre pressure in MotoGP came under scrutiny once again after three competitors were marked for investigation following the conclusion of last Sunday's Indonesian Grand Prix.

Pedro Acosta, who finished second, and Brad Binder, who ended up in eighth place, were ultimately exonerated, whereas it was verified that Takaaki Nakagami, who came in eleventh, did not maintain the minimum pressure for 60% of the race laps.

Discussion has been widespread on whether the justification for Acosta’s penalty escape due to a leaking wheel rim holds water. There's no given reason for Binder's exoneration, but it appears that post-race data from KTM confirmed his adherence to the rules.

Despite this, Nakagami became the 16th competitor to be penalized after a race during the current season, which has encompassed 15 rounds (totaling 30 races) to date. Just a day before, Raul Fernandez was the 15th rider to face such a penalty, following the Mandalika Sprint event.

Should the current average persist, we could see an additional five penalties across the next five rounds, which might not only affect the outcomes of the races but also the championship standings.

As Mandalika kicks off the series of 'flyaway' races, there's concern that the inherent unpredictability compared to European races might substantially elevate the stakes and intensity of competition.

Throughout seven international events leading up to the final race in Valencia last year, there were 17 incidents of tyre pressure violations.

Nevertheless, because there was only a formal caution issued for the initial violation, only a single penalty followed the race during that period. This absolute form of caution was perceived as a 'free pass', motivating teams to test the boundaries until they faced the possibility of a direct time penalty.

The alert set for 2024 was lifted following the demonstrated dependability of the updated real-time pressure surveillance technology.

Penalties after races have been increased from a progressive scale of 3, 6, and 9 seconds for each violation following the initial warning last year, to 8 seconds for a Sprint and 16 seconds for a Grand Prix for every infraction in 2024.

Two competitors were stripped of their podium finishes because of insufficient tire pressure: Fabio di Giannantonio in Valencia 2023 and Fabio Quartararo during the Jerez Sprint of the same year.

Acosta was at risk of being the third, a move that could have also impacted the battle for the MotoGP championship. This would have allowed Francesco Bagnaia to advance to second position at Mandalika, thereby reducing the gap with Jorge Martin, the race victor and championship frontrunner, by four points.

There's a consensus that maintaining a baseline tyre pressure is crucial for both performance and safety. However, the challenge lies in the fact that tyre pressure can vary throughout a race, making it difficult to anticipate.

For instance, primarily because nine racers retired on Sunday, Nakagami found himself racing in 'cooler' open air, positioned 6.6 seconds after Raul Fernandez and leading Alex Rins by 6.0 seconds.

The solitary competition likely led to a reduction in tire pressure. To illustrate, Nakagami, who began in 18th place, completed the Saturday Sprint race a mere 0.399 seconds after the competitor in front.

In a comparable situation, if a competitor beginning from a far back position on the grid surprisingly ends up leading the race and, even more alarming, starts to extend their lead, the same outcome would unfold.

A warning on the dashboard could have signaled to Nakagami that there was a risk of not completing 60% of the required race laps on Sunday deemed 'legal'.

However, the sole strategy he could employ to warm up the front tire by catching a draft would involve stopping and pausing for six seconds, which would further reduce the temperature of his tires and decrease the pressure even more.

Many prefer a more straightforward method than the existing real-time assessment, which determines the mean tyre pressure throughout each lap. A lap meets the standard if the average pressure is no less than 1.8 bar for the front tyres and 1.68 bar for the rear tyres.

The increasing availability of live data might enable the establishment of a required minimum pressure threshold in the future.

However, until that time, might MotoGP think about bringing back a formal caution for an initial violation, provided that it's only applied when a rider is nearing the threshold?

In essence, create a buffer large enough to serve as a safeguard against unexpected events, yet keep it sufficiently narrow to prevent teams from intentionally using the warning as a strategic advantage or 'wild card' (as seen in 2024).

The specific percentage of laps that meet or fail the tire pressure requirements remains undisclosed, leaving us in the dark about how near each penalized rider was to adhering to the regulations. However, it's possible that manufacturers could consent to a proposal along these lines:

A single formal caution will be given if no less than 55% of the grand prix circuits are authorized.

Additionally, it could be broadened to consider unpredictable events such as being pushed off course, colliding and returning to the race, or a major decrease in air/track temperature throughout a competition.

A caution of this nature may not have sufficiently aided Nakagami, yet it's possible to adjust its intensity to minimize 'close call' sanctions and, ideally, diminish the chances of the 2024 championship being determined post-race…

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