With the 2022 season of MotoGP now fully underway, a man by the name of Mat Oxley has covered a most concerning habit in the pits of the circuit.
According to Motor Sport Magazine, riders are deliberately riding with lower tyre pressure in an attempt to keep grip at the max.
This extra friction tends to be needed most when riders are bearing down on another bike – something that’s a constant problem in camp Ducati, which explains why they’re one of the teams under scrutiny for this breach of regulations.
“Michelin’s super-sensitive front slick…needs to operate at exactly the right temperature and pressure to perform at its best,” explains Oxley in Motor Sport Magazine.
“MotoGP has minimum-pressure regulations, written to prevent teams from going too low, which could lead to the tyre casing failing, with inevitable consequences.”
“…[the]minimum limit is 1.9 bar (27.6psi) for front slicks and 1.7 bar (24.6psi) for rears. Any lower and you are breaking the rules, just the same as if you’re running an oversized fuel tank or bypassing software locks.”
Oxley’s conundrum has to do with a leaked printout from the Spanish MotoGP showing the tyre pressure for all riders. There’s way more red here than should be normal:
Apparently, there’s a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ between the MSMA and Michelin to ‘not disclose any breach of this regulation or sanction any breaches.’
Cheaters never prosper, however – and with the leak now open to scrutiny from every Joe and Jane in the community, authorities will have to answer to Oxley’s big question:
“Why weren’t Ducati and Pecco Bagnaia sanctioned for running an illegally low front-slick pressure during their ride to Spanish Grand Prix victory on May 1?”
(for what it’s worth, we’re told that the riders are likely unaware of anything beyond the twisties, so this would not be their fault).
Stay tuned for updates – from the way MotoGP’s been cracking down on safety lately, we’re likely not going to be long in waiting for the rebuttal.
Stay tuned for updates, drop a comment letting us know what you think, and as ever – stay safe on the twisties.