Michelin: "Conspiracies Circulate, but Pointing Fingers at Tires is the Simplest Justification"

tháng 12 12, 2023

Michelin: "Conspiracies Circulate, but Pointing Fingers at Tires is the Simplest Justification"

Michelin has staunchly supported their tires following the Jorge Martin controversy at the conclusion of the MotoGP season.

Title contender Martin experienced a season-low 10th-place finish at the penultimate race of the Qatar MotoGP, attributing his struggles with grip to a faulty tire. Michelin has refuted Martin's claims, asserting that there was no issue with the tire compound allocated to him.

Piero Taramasso, Michelin’s motorsport chief, expressed concern about the criticism in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, stating, "Very much. I know what effort we make. Often the criticisms are unfounded, you hear of conspiracies, bad tires given on purpose... it's absurd. Blaming the tires is the easiest excuse. But I'm sorry that no one noticed the 36 records, or as in Indonesia, Qatar, and Valencia, on new asphalt, the specifications were on target. It's a good result, few have seen it."

Regarding the controversy surrounding Martin, Taramasso noted, "It's true that a quiet season ended in an agitated way. I believe many factors contributed: the stress of the fight for the title, the open rider market, the regulation on tire pressure, the introduction of the Sprints which added a nervous load. Then, in Qatar, Jorge's performance not in line with expectations generated controversy and discussions."

Responding to whether there was a problem with Martin’s tire in Qatar, Taramasso explained, "We did analysis on the machines where they were built, checked the quality and transport processes, the history of the rubber, whether it had been heated or not: there were no manufacturing or quality problems. That's for sure. A tire that doesn't work, it doesn't work on the warm-up lap and already from the first lap it makes you a second slower."

Taramasso addressed the performance difference between the sprint and the grand prix in Qatar, stating, "The first 6-7 laps are decent. In the 4th and 7th, he sets the same time as Bagnaia. He misses the start, but recovers three-four places: if the tire doesn't work, you can't do it. The rest are factors of racing which meant that the deterioration of the rear tire, and then the front, ultimately led him to lap a second slower."

Regarding concerns about Michelin's quality control, Taramasso clarified, "It's not true. I invite everyone, riders, technicians, journalists, to come to France and see where and how we manufacture them. We make a huge effort to have maximum quality controls and be sure that the tires work. We don't want bad publicity, but that the riders are happy."

Explaining the impact of the new tire pressure rule, Taramasso stated, "Because they risked more. Knowing that the first time they would get a warning, they played the wild card. If they had always wanted to respect the values, they could have done it."

On potential changes for the 2024 MotoGP season, Taramasso mentioned ongoing discussions with Dorna, FIM, and IRTA, emphasizing the willingness to make improvements within the framework of existing regulations.

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