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Scrap MotoGP’s Embarrassing Tire Rule

So, it happened again. A race where the final result was different from the order in which they crossed the line. Worse still, a punishment that “rewarded” a truly heroic ride by dropping the erstwhile race leader from a brilliant second to a lowly 14th.

It was the dreaded tire pressure rule again, and the Qatar GP made manifest just what an embarrassing disgrace this is.

If Maverick Vinales’s spirited and inspiring ride proved only one thing, it is that the 16-second penalty for a tire-pressure infringement is unsporting, bullying and distasteful.

Of course, the extraordinary circumstances proved a great deal more than only that. As follows:

1. – that the rule, intended to save riders from straying into dangerous low-pressure territory, is absurd. Vinales was clearly in no such danger whatsoever. Riders and teams should be able to make up their own minds. They shouldn’t be protected from themselves.
2. – that the KTM, currently beset with bad results, is actually a fully competitive bike, when not hamstrung by vibration and chatter triggered by unsuitable tire pressure. It even motored past the Ducatis on the straight.
3. – that control-tire supplier Michelin’s inability (or unwillingness) to build a front tire capable of sustaining the demands of a modern aero-equipped MotoGP bike is a blot on their reputation.
4. – that the acceptance of Michelin’s insistence on a punitive tire-pressure rule by Dorna, IRTA, the GP Commission and the GPMA (manufacturers’ association) is an act of craven cowardice.
5. – that the departure of Michelin and the takeover in 2027 by Pirelli is not only timely, but a chance for a vital reset of sporting parameters.

To be fair, another of Dorna’s dumbed-down rules plays a part—restricting MotoGP riders’ testing to a handful of days, plus less than three hours of practice and qualifying on race weekends. This time is devoted to improving lap and race times rather than blue-sky research.

Michelin is therefore hampered in developing new tires with top riders, whose input is crucially important. But this is only an excuse, not a real reason, for a tire company with the scientific and financial resources available to Michelin. After all, Bridgestone managed to make race- and championship-winning tires by remote control, researching track data, and then sending it home to the engineers in Japan.

Amazingly, Michelin did bring a redesigned front for testing last year, and riders liked it. However, the planned introduction this year was abruptly canceled. More testing was apparently required.

The rule came into being because Michelin’s front tire—unlike the highly regarded rear, unchanged in construction for more than a decade—is increasingly overstressed by burgeoning aero and ride-height developments, which have shortened braking distances and elevated corner speed.

Stress causes heat and pressure to build up, which in turn changes the profile, shrinks the contact patch, and dwindles grip. Overheating is worse when following another bike, so teams start races below the minimum pressure to account for this. But the leader then risks failing to build up enough pressure. Vinales’ mistake was leading for six laps in Qatar—he was punished for racing too hard.

Michelin was concerned riders would crash if they ran their front tires at too low a pressure, as if the world’s top racers couldn’t be trusted to make their own decisions. The rule-making GP Commission concurred.

The regulations were framed during 2022, but, for mainly technical reasons, were not enforced until midway through 2023. For 2024, a crumb of comfort, the threat of disqualification for repeat offenders was withdrawn. However, minimum pressure was slightly reduced, to 1.80 bar from 1.88, and the distance allowed below this was cut from 50 to 40 percent of race distance.

Last season, there were 17 punishments: a 16-second penalty (eight seconds in the Sprint); while at Assen came the unedifying sight of Marquez waving another rider past to warm his tire. That happened again in Thailand this year. This is not real racing.

It is time this embarrassing rule was thrown on the scrap heap.

But here’s an interesting conspiracy theory: that in fact Vinales and his Tech 3 team deliberately ran at an illegally low pressure, in the full knowledge that he would be penalized. This at least explains his equanimity when the axe fell. He’d proven his own and KTM’s speed and crossed the line in second place. This mattered more than the official result.

So, how about taking it a step further? If every rider were to run below minimum pressure, they would all have to be equally penalized. The race results would be 16 seconds slower, but would at least reflect the order in which they crossed the finish line. As they should.

If Dorna’s governing cohorts can’t sort this out, a rider rebellion might get this silly, demeaning rule canned once and for all.

We could call it a Pressure Group. CN

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