The shock decision not to proceed with Michelin’s new MotoGP tyre until 2026 caused surprise in the Misano paddock and consternation among fans on Friday, but was greeted mostly with relief by riders - with the notable exception of champion Pecco Bagnaia.
After years of development work, Michelin’s redesigned front tyre was tried by the full field for the first time in the Misano post-race test a fortnight ago, drawing an initially muted response from most bar Bagnaia, who declared he “loved it” and felt it was ideally suited to his riding style.
Michelin’s existing tyre designs have struggled to keep pace with the demands of MotoGP bikes’ development rates, particularly in the era of aerodynamic proliferation and ride-height devices.
That’s led to strict policing of tyre pressure instructions, and consequently both penalties altering race results and tyre pressure fears compromising the quality of racing.
The new tyre is intended to alleviate all those concerns, but Michelin has now delayed it because it wants to conduct more testing - which it has been unable to do so far due to teams’ reluctance to use their running on tyre development work.
Speaking on Friday, Bagnaia admitted that several of his rivals were unhappy and suggested he should have held his tongue when it came to professing his true feelings.
“Many riders complained about it, so…! It’s true that it was tried in particular conditions, because the grip in the test was fantastic,” Bagnaia said.
“My feeling was super good, and it’s the same reason why for example in last year in India and Indonesia I used a different tyre from the others. I think it’s more the same direction.
“I can brake harder, enter faster, and for me that’s a good help but not for everybody. So, I will wait until it will arrive.
"It was better maybe to say that it was good but not like this. I’ve learned a new lesson for next time.”
Honda rider Luca Marini, who also liked the tyre, still felt it was a “good choice” to wait, adding: “With the tyre that we use now, in every situation at every GP in every conditions, it works quite well, so to not risk too much makes sense.
“Better to have a perfect tyre for the future, and if we have to wait one year more that’s OK.
"Also I think that tyre worked really well for Ducati, so like this maybe they are a little bit slower! If they gain also with the front tyre, it will be difficult.”
The main reason for the delay was a lack of testing, which comes as a direct result of decisions made by Michelin, series organiser Dorna, and MotoGP’s teams and manufacturers.
A mandatory test had been suggested to ensure that ample data could be gathered - but, according to Michelin motorcycle racing chief Piero Taramasso, that idea was rejected thanks to calendar congestion.
Gresini Ducati rider Marc Marquez believes delaying the tyre due to that lack of testing is “super important".
Asked whether it was the correct decision, he said: “For me, yes, because you cannot take the decision for something super important that is the front tyre with only one test in one racetrack in one condition. So it is much better.
“The ones we have now are working, the bikes and the teams and the riders start to understand and avoid more crashes. Normally, when you change the front tyre, you have the strange crashes and you need to understand the range of temperature, of tyre pressure.
“For me it’s a good decision, even though I liked it when I tried it. It’s a good decision to try in more tests, in different conditions and in different compounds.”
Though Aprilia veteran Aleix Espargaro will not be on the grid next year, with his switch from full-time rider to Honda test team member approaching, he concurred that it was the right move.
“I think it’s the correct decision, because when I heard yesterday that they were thinking to bring next season, I was like ‘why?’,” he said.
“We test 15 minutes, five laps each, and you want to change everything? I think it was a little bit risky to bring it next season and I think they took the right decision, because we just tried the hard compound, so we need to try what happens when it’s hot, what happens when it’s cold.
“We need to try this new tyre with different compounds, we need to test more for the engineers. I think it was too risky and they take the right decision.”
When pressed on the teams not wanting to test the tyres, he added: “Yes but this is why we have these teams. The test teams have to test and if they don’t want, then that’s not Michelin’s fault.
“If they bring to the test teams and they are able to test and they don’t want to test, it’s your fault and Michelin is allowed to do the changes they want.
“If you are pushing Michelin for changes, you have to test to improve. It’s not much easier to improve one day to the other. But we are struggling on the last two seasons so they bring the tyre in one test, that is too fast.”
Gresini’s Alex Marquez, who will be riding the 2024 spec Ducati next season, suggested the development would benefit him and other riders using year-old bikes that wouldn't have been designed with the new tyre in mind.
“For us it’s fantastic, for the fact that we’ll have the 24 bike,” he said. “If something is not working, we won’t have updates, but we know that for sure the '24 bike is working with this tyre.
“For that reason, I'm happy not to have it. Not because I don’t like the tyre, but just for that reason. We’ll have everything more under control with that bike.
"The problem is if you start and you have some problems like on the chassis side, you’re not able to change that. You have that bike, so to have the same tyres is really positive for us.”
