Piero Taramasso, racing manager of the French tire manufacturer, replies to the Spaniard from Pramac: “Tyre never used or heated before”. The great Bagnaia-Martin duel, however, deserves an epilogue without shadows
– Milan
They’re not all just round and black. The tires they are the factor that is impacting more on the season finale of MotoGP. First the chapter on the minimum pressure to be respected, imposed by this year’s Silverstone GP for safety reasons, with a corollary of progressive sanctions (warning for the first infringement, then 3″ more on the race time for the second, 6″ for the third , 12″ in the fourth) and warnings that hit, both Jorge Martin in Thailand, either Pecco Bagnaiain Malaysia, then their unpredictable performance: i tires remain in the crosshairs. The two contenders for the title know something about it, which will be decided in Valencia, where Bagnaia arrives with a 21 point advantage over Martin, both of whom had problems with the tires in the last round in Qatar.
Bagnaia’s effort in the sprint
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Bagnaia started on Saturday, in the Sprint won by Martin and closed by Pecco in 5th place with a clear speed deficit: “In the morning with the used and warmed up tires I was faster than in the race – Pecco’s words -: it can happen , but it happened at the wrong time. We wasted 7 points, not because we are slow, but due to other problems and so I’m upset…”. Bagnaia’s words after the Sprint on Saturday clash with those of Martin after the GP, with the Spaniard who went down even harder with the Michelin after his 10th place, talk about shame.
Martin’s anger after the GP
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“In the warm-up lap I didn’t feel any problems, but already at the start I was the only one to drift and I had no pace: as if I had a tire with 30 laps behind me – the attack of the Spaniard from Ducati Pramac after the GP -. I know it’s already happened in Bagnaia, but for me it’s the first time: in the Sprint I kept a pace of 1’53” while in the race I lapped a second slower. It’s a shame that the championship is decided like this, with a tire problem: I don’t think it was done on purpose and I believe in their good faith, but it’s a shame that after a year of work the championship is assigned like this, regardless of who can WIN”. Analyzing Martin’s times between the Sprint and the GPone fact stands out: with the same compound, in the Sprint the Spaniard lapped 1’53” for 10 out of 11 laps, while in the GP he managed to go under 1’54 in only 4 of the 22 laps. Truly a remarkable decline in performance. To make a comparison, Di Giannantonio, winner of the GP, lapped in 1’53 for 19 of the 22 laps.
the Michelin replica
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Martin’s attack leaves the unpleasant aftertaste of doubt about an exciting championship, which should be decided on the track by speed, competitive spirit, duels and overtaking. Bagnaia and Martin, the two very deserving performers of this spectacular season, are the first to want it. As enthusiasts and professionals want it. In this MotoGP, however, the tire component, in terms of performance and efficiency, is increasingly predominant. It is a factor of the game that everyone knows, but it is not stable in its management and that pilots complain about. The fact that problems arise in the hot phase of the World Cup only magnifies the boundaries of the topic, with a patina of shadow that could be done by hand. There Michelin replica arrived punctually after the Losail GP, in the words of Piero Taramasso, racing manager of the French tire manufacturer: “Most of the drivers chose the double hard compound, during the weekend in Qatar some records were broken and the lap record was beaten on the last lap of the GP demonstrating the consistent performance of Michelin tyres. Regarding Jorge Martin’s statements we are still analyzing the data: what we can say is that his tire arrived here immediately after being produced and that it did not has been used or heated on any other occasion before being used for the race.”
unpleasant tail
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While waiting for feedback from the factory, in the event of malfunctions or presumed irregularities the tire is always analysed, there remains an image damage that pays for the entire movement. Good faith remains, the performance of a motorbike also depends a lot on the interaction between engine, electronics and tires with a wide range of settings and adjustments that affect performance, but such an exciting World Championship should be decided by the fairings and braking of the two main protagonists , without other factors. As underlined by Giacomo Agostini, Bagnaia and Martin were not “able to ride as they are capable of riding as they are capable of, because the tires were not performing”. Here’s the real regret: an exciting World Cup, decided in the sprint, but with an unpleasant conclusion.
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