Maverick Vinales had his sights set on winning the sprint in Indonesia. The Aprilia rider was able to grab the lead from pole-sitter Luca Marini (VR46-Ducati) during the first lap. As a result, Vinales increased his lead to around one second.
After eight laps he was caught by his compatriot Jorge Martin (Pramac-Ducati). On the ninth lap, Martin passed and Vinales’ dream of a sprint victory was dashed. He was then overtaken by the VR46 duo.
“My tire suddenly ran out. I couldn’t fight anymore,” sighs Vinales. “Six laps before the end of the race. It happened very early. That wasn’t the case all weekend. I also had blisters on the tire.”
“The thing is that I didn’t put more pressure on the tires. I controlled the race. I had a very good feeling in the race. I drove conservatively, but suddenly the grip was gone. We have to check that.”
“I couldn’t do anything anymore. Suddenly the grip was gone, especially on the brakes. But I don’t want to complain,” Vinales tries to look at the positive side of the performance. “We led the race and fought at the front.”
All 21 drivers chose the soft rear tire for the sprint. Vinales wasn’t the only rider to experience blistering after the race. The sprint lasted 13 laps. 27 laps are scheduled for the Grand Prix.
Bubble formation a problem for Michelin
Tire wear does not play a decisive role in Mandalika, neither in MotoGP nor in the smaller classes with Dunlop tires. The problem is the nature of the new asphalt coupled with asphalt temperatures of up to 60 degrees Celsius.
And especially for the MotoGP rockets with 300 hp. “We overheat the surface of the tire,” explains Miguel Oliveira (RNF-Aprilia). “The asphalt has a lot of grip and is very aggressive.”
“The tire spins at speeds of up to 120 km/h and heats up to 140 degrees. Of course, that’s not ideal. At some point the rubber gives up.” This explains why bubbles formed on the tire surface not only at Vinales.
Only one MotoGP race weekend took place in Mandalika in spring 2022. Since then, the route has been completely resurfaced. There were no tire tests either. That’s why Michelin has brought the full range of tires with more variants than usual.
In addition to three different symmetrical front tires, there are also three asymmetrical rear tires. After the sprint, Michelin is said to have considered that the soft rear tire should not be used in the Grand Prix for safety reasons. Discussions are still ongoing.