(Latest update: 28th July 2023 following new FIM regulations regarding the introduction of tyre pressure monitors)
You’ve decided MotoGP is the sport for you. You’ve watched a few races, you’ve picked a rider or two you like but now it’s time to take it to the next level and increase your knowledge.
So where to start? Qualifying, the points system or electronics? All good but you will come to see that, above all, a lot of time is spent on tyre choice.
It will be mentioned by the commentators on just about every issue. It can literally be a deal breaker.
For the most part, it seems a complicated thing to follow and the rules have changed a great deal in the last few years since Michelin took over supply at the end of 2015.
Michelin originally had the contract until 2023 but this was extended in September 2021 until 2026.
In a statement by Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, he expressed his satisfaction with Michelin’s tyre provisions since their return in 2016:
“We’re very proud to continue our partnership with Michelin until at least 2026. Michelin has been a vital partner for MotoGP since it became the tyre supplier to the premier class in 2016, helping us to create one of the greatest eras of competition in motorcycle Grand Prix racing history. I’m delighted that we will reach a decade of collaboration and I hope we can continue building on this incredible foundation together. This agreement is fantastic news for all of us in the Championship.”
Now I understand for a new fan, the discussion of tyre choices can seem like a foreign language. But it is actually quite simple if you know just a few key things.
So where to start? Let’s begin with the overall tyre itself in MotoGP.
Every rider is provided with harder tyres and softer tyres as well as tyres suitable for the wet and dry. The dry condition tyres are referred to as slicks.
What does that mean? Harder tyres are those that take longer to wear out but longer to warm up so better for longevity but won’t get you to the front in the first lap generally.
Softer tyres will get you to the front of the pack quicker but will run the risk of falling apart by the end of the race. If you are unskilled at finding this balance it can be the end of your chances for a podium that day.
Within these hard and soft options it is broken down again into symmetrical and asymmetrical or in some parts ‘Dual Compound’.
Symmetrical are the same ‘compound’ (remember this word for later) across the whole tyre. Asymmetrical (or dual compound) are a combination joined together in order to accommodate tracks with more left or right turns for example. This allows more wear on one side, the harder side.
Compounds are hard, medium or soft – for interest’s sake should you be close enough to see the tyres they do have a colour code:
- Black or no marking is the medium,
- yellow is the harder option
- and white is soft
Update for the 2023 Season
The Grand Prix Commission has decided that from 2023 the number of rear slick tyre options available each weekend will be reduced to two.
Only a softer and a harder option tyre will be available with the actual specific rubber characteristic to be determined before each round.
A statement from the GPC read: “It has already been announced that the allocation of rear slick tyres will be modified from 2023.
Riders will be able to use the same number of tyres as they do currently (12 per event), but there will be a reduced number of options in order to decrease the number of tyres that are produced and transported by Michelin but ultimately not used.
All riders will have the same allocation: seven of the softer option and five of the harder option.
Michelin will decide which specifications are brought to each event: soft and medium, medium and hard, or soft and hard”.
Accordingly, the Grand Prix Commission has confirmed that, with effect from the 2023 season, the allocation of rear slick tyres per MotoGP rider per event will be as follows:
- Seven softs and five mediums OR
- Seven mediums and five hards OR
- Seven soft and five hards.
What about in the wet though?
It works basically the same.
A selection of tyre compounds are developed to suit wet conditions, usually in a soft and medium option for the grip required in wet conditions.
Depending on the track in question they will be offered in both symmetrical and asymmetrical just the same as dry weather tyres.
Michelin did attempt to resolve the issue by developing an intermediate tyre for drying out or damp conditions which sounds great but for several reasons they have been scrapped as unnecessary.
Instead, three tyre compounds or spec choices are offered to counteract this issue.
So what can riders have for selection each race weekend?
SLICKS:
At each Grand Prix, every rider will have 22 slick tyres – 10 fronts, 12 rears.
The front tyre allocations can be made up from selecting a maximum of five tyres from each specification: Soft, Medium, Hard.
The rear tyre allocation can be made up from selecting a maximum of six Softs, four Mediums and three Hard.
The two riders who progressing through Q2 to Q1 receive an extra slick front from any of the soft, medium or hard compounds as well as an extra soft rear tyre
WET WEATHER:
Wet weather allocation is 13 tyres (six front, seven rear) with a choice of both Soft and Medium.
Of course, there are always exceptions to every rule. And for wet weather tyres they are as follows:
If the Race Director declares any 3 out of the 5 sessions—P1, P2, Free Practice, one Qualifying session, and the Sprint—as wet, excluding warm-up, each rider will be allocated an additional set of rain tyres (1 x front and 1 x rear). The automatic allocation will be 7 Front rain tyres and 8 Rear rain tyres.
Where both Q1 and Q2 are declared wet, the additional tyres allocated for those riders progressing through Q1 and Q2 will be Rain tyres. This is only if both Q1 and Q2 are declared wet.
If Q1 and Q2 have different declared weather conditions then no additional tyres will be made available.
Tyre Pressures
At the 2023 British MotoGP at Silverstone, Dorna will implement yet another unification of electronics with the start of TPMS (tyre pressure monitoring systems) through a unified system.
Teams are no longer able to pick the device they like and are only allowed the unit provided by LDL Technology, who already supply MotoE.
Interestingly LDL beat out the brands that were already in use by MotoGP teams.
The TPMS (tyre pressure monitoring systems) records tyre pressure and temperatures in real time and reports it back for monitoring.
Riders will also be able to see this on their dash and revise their riding to suit.
According to the rules the device must be connected and reporting data the entire time the wheel is on the bike. it is also encrypted so teams cannot alter it
The monitoring sensors have been in place since 2016 and rules have stated using a lower than allowed tyre pressure will result in a penalty but they have never actually done this.
It has been considered somewhat of a gentleman’s agreement that the penalty is not implemented which is how some see it.
From now on, tyre pressures outside the mandated limits will become a technical infringement.
Such an infringement would normally result in disqualification from a session or even the race.
However, because this is being introduced mid season, it has been agreed there will be a gradual penalty scale for now:
- Warning for 1st offence
- 3 second penalty for 2nd offence
- 6 second penalty for 3rd offence
- 12s second penalty for 4th offence
This new rule will only apply to the actual races – sprint and the main event. However, that is likely to change once the new rule is “bedded in” and teams become more familiar with it.
Why is tyre pressure important?
The lower the pressure the more grip and speed, up the pressure and the opposite occurs.
A good front tyre impacts corner speed entry and exit so really without good front tyre grip and longevity the rider really has no chance.
So why not lower it then if it gives more grip?
Well you then potentially weaken the wall of the tyre increasing the chance of an explosive blowout with possibly disastrous consequences.
Dorna’s intention is to get on top of this with a unified system increasing safety and fairness.
Permitted tyre pressures
Prior to the 2023 Silverstone race, MotoGP’s minimum pressures were 1.9 bar (27.55psi) for front slicks and 1.7 bar (24.65psi) for rears.
Any rider with lower pressure than this would be sanctioned.
However, with the introduction of the tyre pressure monitors, the minimum pressure is likely to change depending on the circuit.
There are many factors at play with tyre pressure and it fluctuates for a variety of reasons, rider style also comes into play with some riders dealing with higher pressure better than others.
This will make it a highly complex issue for the teams to manage.
How do the teams go about making tyre selections?
- Weather conditions both apparent and forecast – which if you have ever been to Phillip Island you will know these are not often one and the same (join the club re the UK! – Ed)
- Track conditions either incidental to the day or common to the track. For example, does the track have a predominate direction requiring the asymmetrical tyre? Is it a track that is known for destroying tyres (yep Phillip Island again)?
- Having issues with the bike such as electronics; creating performance issues that affect tyre wear
- And last crashing etc.
All of these factors play a part in making the final tyre choice for race day. If a wrong choice is made or the tyres supplied do not withstand the conditions then a rider may eat through many more tyres trying to get it ‘right’ leaving a shortage of options if you like.
For 2018, Andrea Dovizioso at the Austrian GP and Marc Marquez at Valencia immediately come to mind.
Already one could feel a little stressed right!
Now to make you feel better…minus the extra rules for events like storms that require a special decision from race direction, that’s pretty much it. That’s tyre allocation and selection under the new rules.
To make you feel even better – we now only have one class in MotoGP. Prior to 2016 there was the open class –that’s been done away with so now there is only one set of rules to learn and they don’t impact tyres outside of testing anymore,
This does not mean everyone is just lumped together regardless of financial position of the factory. There is simply a less complicated way of dealing with the concessions made. But we won’t go into this here.
The only other issue is how does one tell what tyres a rider is using without a commentator to tell you?
Not to worry FIM have got that sorted. Fans now have the benefit of electronic documenting of tyre selection – the information will be displayed on screen for viewers.
Give it a go next time you are watching a race to follow along with the discussions on tyre selection and its effect on the outcome.
Understanding this element of MotoGP adds an extra level to watching the race. Not to mention you’ll be able to impress your MotoGP loving friends with your new knowledge on tyre selection!
Love all things motorcycle, especially technical! Keep it comin.
Ended more confused than I was in the beginning. Definitely not for beginners!
GREAT TIRE INFORMATION , ARE THERE GOING TO BE MORE CHANGES IN 2021 SEASON ??
Thanks 🙂 Just updated the article. No changes for 2021.
Just updated the article for 2021 following some rule changes 🙂