‘Penalised for tyre choices’
Racers have long been hostage to tyres. All the more so in Qatar, underlined by a last-minute MotoGP rule change, and a rush of variations in Moto2.
It was Pirelli’s first race in Moto2 and Moto3, and there must have been smirking in the Black Country from the mainly Brummie race staff of the ousted former tyre suppliers, Dunlop.
Moto2 riders who chose the medium instead of the soft rear were (in the emollient words of Pirelli’s press release) “penalised”. And how.
One was pole starter and new all-time record setter Aron Canet. He led in the early stages, but a lap-time hike of almost five seconds made finishing tenth a massive achievement. Another was title favourite Fermin Aldeguer, winner of the last four races of 2023. He was “penalised” by 4.6 seconds, but it dropped him out of the points to 16th.
Even for the more sensibly shod winner Alonso Lopez, this year’s race was 3.5 seconds slower than 2023 – though if the battle is close enough, that doesn’t matter so much. In the words of an old racing sage: “Why hurry a good race?”
Such radical lap-time increases may be excused by Pirelli’s lack of experience in Moto2, and a relative shortage of pre-season testing time. But the excuse will soon wear thin if there isn’t a rapid and radical improvement. If this persists beyond the first three or four races, it will become a joke.
But the tyre-hostage syndrome isn’t exclusive to Pirelli or the support classes. This was the first race where MotoGP’s hastily revised but still draconian fronttyre rules carried swingeing penalties for riders whose pressure drops below 1.8 bar for more than 60 percent of the race. To the relief of all, the minimum pressure is down from 1.88 bar, but the laps up from 50 percent. And instant disqualification was replaced by a 16s time penalty.
It remains to be seen how this will play out, while Ducati for one have on-board monitors, so a rider can slot in behind another if the pressure drops too much.
‘Pirelli’s excuse will soon wear thin’