MotoGP riders keen for controversial tyre pressure rules to stay

Leading MotoGP riders are unanimous that the controversial current tyre pressure rules will have to remain in place, most likely until 2027.

The topic came to the fore once again at the last race in Qatar, when Maverick Vinales lost his second place after his front tyre was found to be below the stipulated pressure limit. Such limits, set by supplier Michelin, have been in place since the 2023 British Grand Prix and were adjusted ahead of 2024.

The 16-second penalty issued to Vinales, which demoted him to 14th, was only announced after the podium celebrations at Losail. This has added to the existing unpopularity of the tyre pressure rule with many observers, no doubt including many fans with little interest in what is a dry technicality for most.

But the leading four riders in the points standings said on Thursday at Jerez that the rule had to stay in the interests of safety and fairness.

“The MotoGP bike is really aggressive and it’s really strong [in its demands of the tyres],” said VR46 rider Franco Morbidelli, who comes into the Jerez weekend fourth in the standings.

“So to have some safety thresholds from Michelin is the correct thing to do and it’s correct to follow their rules.”

Marc Marquez took a similar stance, but did suggest that the aspect of the rule requiring tyres to be above the limit for 60% of the race distance could be adjusted. This would put less emphasis on teams having to guess whether they might run in the lead of a group or a race for a sustained period, a situation that causes pressures to drop.

“For me, the thing is the question of safety, as Michelin says,” said the points leader. “The only thing we can work on is maybe try to understand – if it’s safe – whether we can reduce the percentage of the laps.

“I mean less laps at that tyre pressure. Because sometimes, maybe [somebody like] Vinales will lead the race, then drop [positions] and then never recover again. The only thing I see is that.”

Marc’s brother Alex, currently his nearest rival in the championship, added: “Yes, maybe you can adjust that [laps percentage] a little bit, but it’s a rule for everybody. [Fairness also dictates] you need these details.”

Double world champion Francesco Bagnaia echoed the words of his fellow front-running Ducati colleagues, suggesting that the margin for error was reasonable even in the Qatar GP.

“Rules are rules and you need to stay over this limit that Michelin has put there for safety,” said Bagnaia.

“It’s true that years ago we were racing with the same tyre, but with a lower pressure. But I think that the limit we had in Qatar was very low. So I think that in this situation, the limit can stay there without penalising our performance and we can continue like this.”

Maverick Vinales, Red Bull KTM Tech 3

Photo by: Tech3 Racing

Vinales himself has refused to let the penalty dampen his spirits. But upon arrival at Jerez he confirmed that the issue in Qatar was simply his unexpected run in the lead of the race, where the clear air tends to result in tyre pressures dropping.

Marc Marquez faced a similar issue at the opening round in Thailand, deliberately dropping behind his brother for a portion of the race to bring his pressures back up.

“The problem is that we calculated the pressures to be [racing in a] group, and after four laps we were out in front,” said Vinales. “We didn’t expect that. I tried to do the same thing Marc did in Thailand, but I let him through and he pulled away! He was going too fast.”

Vinales also underlined that there was no advantage to be gained from running low pressures.

“The penalty is 16 seconds, but those are the rules,” he added. “You have to stay within the pressure limits. If the penalty were only four seconds, people would take more risks. And actually, when you race with low-pressure tyres, it’s not comfortable at all.”

Without serious opposition from the riders and teams, the first chance for the tyre pressure rule to be revisited will realistically come only when MotoGP switches to a new tyre supplier, Pirelli, for the 2027 season.