MOTOGP: MotoGP Boss Calls Current Tire Rules 'an Error'

[ambasnakeman]

Although he says that the MotoGP World Championship “has never been better,” Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta acknowledged in an interview with Mela Chercoles of El As, a huge Spanish sports daily, that “I am in agreement with Rossi that the tire limitations are an error that must be solved.”

 

He lays the blame for the rules, which require teams to select a total of 14 front tires and 17 rears on the day before the first official practice session, at the feet of the three leading tire companies, Michelin, Dunlop, and Bridgestone, who came up with the rules which were intended to cut costs and simplify the work of the teams and the manufacturers.

 

Former Michelin motorcycle competition director Nicolas Goubert said in a factory press release at the end of the 2006 season, “Carmelo Ezpeleta played a major role in this. He asked the tire companies to come up with a compromise that would be acceptable to all of us because he wanted different tire companies to continue fighting on the racetrack.”

 

Now the Dorna CEO has branded this compromise solution an error and threatened to impose a single tire system unless the tire companies can restore balanced racing via new rules.

 

Ezpeleta was quoted in El As as saying, “The brands have to reach an agreement on how they can change this. I don’t want to suggest anything because it is the brands that have to make acceptable solutions if they want to avoid this becoming a single tire championship.”

 

It would be embarrassing for many MotoGP officials and team owners to recall the statements they made in 2004 when FGSport, rights-holders of World Superbike, changed to a single tire (Pirelli) supplier. Most critics of the single tire rule in the World SBK Championship have now accepted that it was the right thing to do.

 

Now, unless Ezpeleta can induce Bridgestone to give up its hard-earned and well-deserved advantage, Dorna will have to test its true power against the MSMA, notionally the rule-making branch of the four party power-sharing system that includes the FIM, MSMA, IRTA (the racing team’s association) and Dorna, who own commercial and TV rights. The MSMA, with authority over technical rules, has always opposed a single tire rule.

[ambasnakeman]

Briefly, then, here is how the new rules work: the tires manufactures show up early in the week with their complete selection and advise the teams as to the ideal choices. Different riders and their crew chiefs have an easier time if they have been able to test the tires during the preseason, but even if they have a change in temperature can be critical. At tracks where no testing has taken place (like Istanbul, Laguna Seca and Misano) it is all theory and riders have to rely on their instincts and the manufacturers’ recommendations.

 

After the 14 fronts and 17 rears are chosen, they are marked by the FIM Technical Director and during the remainder of the event each rider is restricted to the selection of 31 tires that he and his team have made with their tire provider (there is no limit on rain tires).

 

Only companies that have won two races in dry conditions during the previous season are bound by these rules, meaning that Dunlop can still supply as many tires and as many types of tires as they wish, but Michelin and Bridgestone are limited.

 

These rules were agreed upon by the tire manufacturers and approved by the MSMA during the 2006 season and the initial response from most riders after initial preseason testing was positive. Among those riders who approved the rules at first was Valentino Rossi.

 

New Michelin racing boss Jean-Philippe Weber seemed pleased initially and even reported that 40% less tires were used at the season opener in Qatar where Michelin and Bridgestone had both run extensive tests, and where Stoner, on the powerful Ducati, beat Rossi by 2.8 seconds, making good use of a top-speed advantage.

 

When Rossi was first ahead of Pedrosa (both on Michelins) at Jerez, it looking like Michelin might still have the old magic, but as the season progressed (as early as the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez de la Frontera), Michelin riders were complaining that these limits meant that some entire practice sessions were lost because a rider might have chosen only two or three tires that actually suited the conditions.

 

Bridgestone’s Manager of Motorcycle Sport, Hiroshi Yamada, is justifiably displeased by criticisms of the rules coming from Michelin riders. After the runaway victory at Laguna Seca by Stoner with Bridgestone riders filling the podium, Yamada defended the new rules: “The so-called ‘tire war’ is a welcome situation for us as we are able to showcase our technical abilities in a competitive environment against other tire manufacturers.”

 

As to the fairness of the rules, Yamada points out, “The new tire regulations were developed based on joint discussions with all three tire manufacturers involved in MotoGP.”

[ambasnakeman]

Michelin’s Lost ‘Geographical Advantage’

 

In previous seasons privileged Michelin riders benefited from the ability of the French company to manufacture tires overnight at the works in Clermont-Ferand and rush them out by van to European venues. This geographical advantage meant that the very top riders on the Michelin list would receive emergency shipments of tires, something that Bridgestone, with their competition department and manufacturing facilities in Japan, could not do except at their lone home GP. Eleven of the seventeen 2006 rounds took place in Europe, all within reach overnight by van.

 

The purpose of the new tire rules was ostensibly to cut costs by limiting the number of tires that the companies had to produce and that the teams had to test, but the result is that Michelin’s advantage disappeared.

 

That, of itself, would have been a good thing (from the perspective of ‘the show’) if the result had been relative equality. In fact the opposite is true. Bridgestone, accustomed to producing tires capable of working over a broader range of conditions due to their geographical disadvantage in relation to Michelin and Dunlop in the past, have been able at most tracks to offer a range of tires for the surface and the climatic conditions while Michelin -- perhaps because they were used to building a tire ideal for more narrow conditions -- have come up short on several occasions… at least this is what their riders say.

 

To give just one example: At Laguna Seca Michelin anticipated higher temperatures and Michelin riders complained that their tires went off early in comparison to the Bridgestones. Casey Stoner, Chris Vermeulen, and Marco Melandri took the first three places on a Ducati, a Suzuki and a Honda, but all three on Bridgestone tires. Rossi and Pedrosa finished fourth and fifth, 30 and 35 seconds, respectively, behind the young Australian on his Desmosedici.

 

But on other occasions, just one race before Laguna at Sachsenring, Germany for example, the opposite was true with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) running away from the field on his Michelin tires and with championship leader Casey Stoner running a half minute back of Pedrosa.

 

On that day Loris Capirossi, Stoner’s Ducati teammate, was second, but a huge 13.1 seconds back. Capirossi had taken a gamble and chosen a tire of a different construction than the one used by Stoner and the other top Bridgestone riders.

 

Bridgestone has won eight of twelve races (with Stoner winning seven and Vermeulen winning in France, Michelin’s home track, in the rain), but the difference in number of podium placings only gives Bridgestone a 20 to 16 advantage. Winning is what matters though, and now that Ezpeleta has joined the critics, the Rossi argument has picked up credibility.

 

The read on the situation is that ‘the show’ has suffered as a result of the races being less closely contested. The best riders frequently do not actually match up on the track because they are on different brands of tires. In fact the gap between first and second over the first 12 races of this season is three times what it was over the same stretch of races in 2005 when most top riders were on Michelin tires and the French company was rushing in tires overnight on some occasions to suit the conditions.

 

In 2005 the average gap from winner to second-place finisher after the first 12 races was 2.060 seconds. This grew slightly to 2.578 in 2006, but then mushroomed to 6.14 over the first dozen races of 2007. But, again, much of this is due to the Stoner’s riding and the performance of the Desmosedici.

 

Fans in Europe are complaining that the races are boring and the Michelin riders, most vocally Rossi, Kenny Roberts Junior, and Dani Pedrosa, have demanded that the rules be changed. There was a heated exchange over the subject at the usually cordial rider’s safety committee meeting at Laguna Seca.

[ambasnakeman]

Clearly it seems the right thing to do from a commercial perspective to improve ‘the show,’ but is it fair?

 

Casey Stoner has expressed annoyance at the complaints, rightly saying that, “last year when Michelin was bringing in special tires overnight for two or three riders, that wasn’t fair. At the start of the season Valentino and the others were saying that these rules were fine, no problem, but that was when they thought they would still have the advantage. Now they are losing and they want to change the rules. How is this fair?”

 

Stoner is right, or course, in saying that if the rules had favored Michelin those same riders would not have complained. Ducati, Suzuki, and Kawasaki (plus the Gresini Honda team) bet on the right horse in this race and now they will not be easily persuaded to revert to a system that takes away an advantage that Bridgestone has, so far, earned by simply beating Michelin at the game of designing, building, and recommending the right tires on most occasions.

 

The expected rebound by Michelin at Brno (Czech Republic) did not happen as Stoner and American John Hopkins romped away, leaving Nicky Hayden and his Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa behind. Michelin riders complained that they lost grip early… Rossi, a dismal seventh, said that he had no grip after seven laps.

 

But there was still some hope of something new from Michelin at the tests on Monday and Tuesday. In fact there was not even a dead cat bounce from Michelin as Bridgestone riders Stoner, Hopkins, and Vermeulen were quickest with Hayden again as the top Michelin rider. Rossi was outside the top ten both days and admitting that the ‘miracle tire’ had not turned up.

 

The next track on the schedule in Misano, a new venue in that it is now run in the reverse direction (to meet MotoGP safety requirements) and has been resurfaced. It is incredibly grippy and the track surface temperature could go over 100 degrees.

 

Traditionally Bridgestone has had some advantage over Michelin on new tracks, so the Michelin riders are worried.

 

World Superbike raced on the new track in mid-June and double winner Troy Bayliss, who set the new circuit’s first motorcycle record in 1’36.0 and won both races on his Ducati 999F07 twin, said, “The MotoGP bikes will be blindingly fast here because of all the grip. They’ll take maybe a couple of seconds off our times but the faster you go the harder it is to pass and Misano is just about impossible to pass on.”

 

With Michelin riders demanding rule changes and fans and the media using the dreaded “B-word” (booooring!) to complain about predictable and processional races, it is obvious that Ezpeleta is feeling the heat and will already be talking tough to the tire companies, telling them, as he has told the press in the past, that he prefers an open competition between tire companies, but not if this spoils the racing.

[ambasnakeman]

MotoGP has other problems. The world’s most charismatic rider, Valentino Rossi, is being charged with tax evasion by the Italian authorities who are claiming he owes 112 million Euros (about $151,000,000). And, even after the tire situation is sorted out, there is the matter of traction control which has taken away the sliding, the bobbles, and the excitement that has been the trademark of Grand Prix racing in the premier class since the days of Kenny Roberts on his smoking Goodyear tires back in 1978.

 

A good test of a leader is his ability to admit mistakes. The bigger test is correcting them. Dorna CEO Ezpeleta, the new FIM President Vito Ippolito (who has written an outspoken editorial in FIM Magazine questioning the merits of introducing unrestricted electronic technology (traction control)), and the Japanese-controlled manufacturers association (MSMA) are going to be put to the test over the next few months as they try and return the balance and excitement to MotoGP for 2008.

 

Or… is Casey Stoner right when he says that it is not fair to try and revert to unfair rules that favored Michelin just because the advantage has shifted from Michelin and Rossi to Bridgestone and Stoner under rules that everyone agreed on?

[Tortise]

it is a mistake because the current championship leader is an Australian on an Italian bike, which seems so politically wrong

 

[GuiNNeSS]

No one whined when Rossi was leading the entire champianship by millions of points, and was holding such an advantage he could 'play' with other racers, letting them take the lead only to do his 'thing' and retake it at the last moments.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love this sport, and it really is getting kind of boring. I can see some improvements though, the camera now shows the smaller teams alittle more compared to last time where they basically just panned on Rossi wherever he is, leading or middle of the pack. Smaller teams got almost zero airtime.

 

Maybe they should all just race off the shelf DOT-race tyres and ditch the traction control. Give us back the Gary McCoy 100mph powerslides!

[UrAaYu]

What's traction control?

[GuiNNeSS]

What's traction control?

 

http://www.google.com

http://wikipedia.org/

[eyz]

i think stoner shud jus favour the changed of the tires rule, so as to prove to the rest of the critics of his real capabilities..

 

if he continues to lead, he'll surely impress a lot of more people.

[NoLogicOne]

With Michelin riders demanding rule changes and fans and the media using the dreaded “B-word” (booooring!) to complain about predictable and processional races, it is obvious that Ezpeleta is feeling the heat and will already be talking tough to the tire companies, telling them, as he has told the press in the past, that he prefers an open competition between tire companies, but not if this spoils the racing.

 

OMG, #46 leading and winning yrs ago, was that not as predictable too?

 

In fact, last yr and this yr, I enjoy watching Rossi more than ever, giving the talented guys on better mechanical advantages a hard time as much as possible. Is this not the challenge that Rossi used to yearn for?

 

Appreciate Amba for sharing so many info on the tyre war. As much of an idol are these GP Racers, they are as human as all of us.

[NoLogicOne]

i think stoner shud jus favour the changed of the tires rule, so as to prove to the rest of the critics of his real capabilities..

 

if he continues to lead, he'll surely impress a lot of more people.

 

Actually it's not just Stoner's solely who prefer.....what about the Kawi and Suzuki teams that had been struggling yrs ago? It's time for these teams to savour happiness.

 

Bridgestone riders should stayed firm because it's the tyre companies that decided on this ruling, and there's no dispute at the start of the yr.

 

This is only Michelin's 1st bad yr....I dun think they are that crap anyways.

[ninja10]

Hi Amba,

 

Tks bro for the tire wars write up..it did shed some lights on what is going on there...

 

Yeap..sad to see Rossi struggling this time. A talented rider but then again without good tires and good engine..how can he shine.

Yeap..Stonner rides well too. He just got the super confidence to ride coz he knew his bike is in good shape and the tires are good too.

Same like we all lah..when we got a good tires...we all also go fast and lean more,right?

But when we know our tires are not so good/slides easily...what we do?

Yeap..we just ride slowly/carefully and lean not too much,right.

 

So..same thing lor for Rossi and Stonner.

 

But one thing that keep bogling my mind is...how come none of the Japanese companies be it the super Honda or the Yami still can't get their bikes in good shape to fight the Ducs?? I mean...all the Japanese bikes lost to Ducs at the straights. Ehmmmm, something not right. It can't be the technology failed to reach Japanese on how built a bike to go fast on straight?

And how come till todate, the Michelins still can't even get close to the technology of the Bridgestone?

 

Sometimes...I sense something not right somewhere.

[ambasnakeman]

the problem is the situation is not BALANCED.

 

remember watching the first race of this year, where ducati fly like rocket. that is a mechanical advantage. rider weigh 8 kg lesser than rossi as well. but if u all did take note, the yamaha had more entry speed than any other machine there. with the slightest of wobbles. and yamaha got the name of a technological breakthrough.

 

one machine faster and one machine with better entry speed.

 

but the tyre war, aint balanced at all. michelin for some reason is struggling at tyre prediction. bridgestone is somewhat talented in tyre prediction. nobody wants to see the title being decided by the best tyre predictor right?

 

many saw stoner climb from 125, 250, gp LCR machine.....and the no. of times he crashed. a very rough and aggressive rider....somehow ducati machine accepts his style of riding....could it be the reason why capirossi is struggling.

 

many rules can be created.

1) one make tyre like WSB

2) machine HP limit

3) getting rid of traction control

 

many race organisations have different sets of rules. not only to cut racing cost, but to make it fair for low budget teams as well.

[Hartholomew]

I agree with Amba,

 

Ducati are well known for their Magneti Marelli traction control package. Even some teams that have had Mitsubishi Electronics packages have been switching over to the Italian brand

 

Rider weight is also a big advantage, lots of people know that you can gain bhp/kg by making the bike/rider/bike & rider lighter; instead of making it more powerful.

 

It is never about pure bhp, but bhp per kilo.

Power to Weight Ratios rule racing. Period.

 

Power only wins you bragging rights and Dyno shoot outs.

 

BUT,

 

This is not always the case, look at Pedrosa, they were complaining about him when he joined the top class, but he has not done much EVEN with his weight advantage.

 

Ducati have also recently said that it's aerodynamics package does not take cornering into account, could this be the secret to their devastating straight line speed???

 

The Japanese factories have been modifying their fairings for better high speed cornering performance for a long time... Remember those old fox eye CBR 900s with holes on the side of the fairing????

 

Even Casey complained that he was badly affected by side winds on the Desmosedici.

 

Very interesting eh???

 

 

Also remember that Ducati was one of the first to pioneer Desmodromic valves, which positively open AND close, which negates "valve float" that valve springs are susceptible to. Desmodromic Valve operation is far superior to "run of the mill" valve springs as they can keep the valves open longer, letting more fuel in before slamming it shut.

 

This is why Ducatis sound so noisy, apart from the dry clutch. This is also probably why they run belt driven cams, since the tolerances in the Desmo gears and valves are so small that they CANNOT afford to stretch. This contributes to Ducati bikes' short service intervals.

 

Remember, most Japanese bikes use cam CHAINS that stretch, but are kept in tension by tensioners.

 

Even when factories like Aprilia had Pneumatic Valve Operation on their GP machine, (which is comparable to Desmodromics) they still could not make it rideable enough, although it was always one of the fastest bikes on the track.

 

Ducati's experience in this field may have given them a "first adopter" advantage too.

 

However, I personally think that the new tyre rule has alot to do with it. Michelin has lost its advantage of making special tyres overnight. In the past, Michelin was so advanced that they could custom make the compound, carcass, profile, size...etc...overnight to suit the particular surface, temperature, riding style, power...etc

 

Michelin's pursuit of a perfect tyre may have done them in this season. Since Michelin have had the resources to make tyres overnight, they must have made them to suit such narrow operating windows, giving them the HUGE advantage and perfect tyres for any condition, like they have had in previous seasons; so much so that they may have "lost touch" with making a "wide-use" tyre...

 

Bridgestone on the other hand has had no choice but to make tyres with wide tolerances since they never had the "overnight" capability of Michelin. Maybe this played to their advantage this season when the new rules were introduced.

 

But Hey, Michelin have been dominating for YEARS...remember when they used to advertise: "We dont race for 2nd place..."???

 

It is good for the sport and the consumers for things to get juggled up a bit form time to time...

 

Well, whatever it is, I agree with NEO that it has made racing much more interesting to watch as there are so many new people riding at the front.

 

Inversely, it takes away some of the excitement when you see the leaders stretched out that far, making impossible to see some helmets butt...

 

Cheers,

 

Hartholomew Mamola

[ambasnakeman]

i used to cancel appts with MJ just to watch GP live. MJ doesnt like to watch GP.

 

but i am starting to get bored of the GP class. not because, Rossi is losing, or stoner is gonna win more or less. but there is no side by side racing. bikes touching each other, riders with so much confidence just getting into corners to take the lead. remember rossi and sete clashes. rossi delibrately giving the lead to hayden in philip island to see what he is capable of for a couple of laps, before finishing him off.

 

this season is staring to get boring. but stoner has done something no others could....so credits to him

[ninja10]

Yes..you are right, Hart.

Guess to really know the good rider and to make the race exciting will be just use a single tyre rule. No traction control.

 

But...do you guys think that IF Rossi rides the Kawi, he might be in a better position to fight Stonner?

Because couple of times, the Kawi (with Randi) seems to be doing a good qualifying.

And I think the Kawi seems to be having more power compared to the Yami..but the rider made the Kawi not performing during the actual races.

Just my two cents..

[ambasnakeman]

remember, kawis are on bridgestones....so are the suzuki...and gresini honda.....

[Hartholomew]

i used to cancel appts with MJ just to watch GP live. MJ doesnt like to watch GP.

 

but i am starting to get bored of the GP class. not because, Rossi is losing, or stoner is gonna win more or less. but there is no side by side racing. bikes touching each other, riders with so much confidence just getting into corners to take the lead. remember rossi and sete clashes. rossi delibrately giving the lead to hayden in philip island to see what he is capable of for a couple of laps, before finishing him off.

 

this season is staring to get boring. but stoner has done something no others could....so credits to him

 

Hey Amba,

 

Poor MJ! You ass! At least sedate her with some drugs when the GP is on and she can sleep through it lah! She will never know!!! Muah ah ah!

 

Dude, if you are starting to get bored cos there are no bikes touching, you can touch me instead! But in private cos Raptor will get jealous.

 

Stoner Rocks!

[Hartholomew]

Yes..you are right, Hart.

Guess to really know the good rider and to make the race exciting will be just use a single tyre rule. No traction control.

 

But...do you guys think that IF Rossi rides the Kawi, he might be in a better position to fight Stonner?

Because couple of times, the Kawi (with Randi) seems to be doing a good qualifying.

And I think the Kawi seems to be having more power compared to the Yami..but the rider made the Kawi not performing during the actual races.

Just my two cents..

 

Hey Ninja, my psychic powers are telling me you ride a ZX10...!

[Hartholomew]

Hey dudes,

 

Just read today that Rossi will be testing a new PNEUMATIC VALVE engine for the Misano GP.

 

Lets see if Yamaha can succeed at what Aprilia failed at.

 

Looks like Valve Springs may be making an exit from top level racing

[GuiNNeSS]

 

Looks like Valve Springs may be making an exit from top level racing

 

Why is this so?

[Tortise]

but there is no side by side racing. bikes touching each other, riders with so much confidence just getting into corners to take the lead. remember rossi and sete clashes. rossi delibrately giving the lead to hayden in philip island to see what he is capable of for a couple of laps, before finishing him off.

 

maybe we could relive those exciting moments ourselves to a theatre near us?

[ninja10]

Hey Ninja, my psychic powers are telling me you ride a ZX10...!

Whoa....Hart, your psychic power very very acurate liao.

 

So, this MISANO GP...who will win arr? Stonner or Rossi?

[Hartholomew]

Why is this so?

 

Looks like Valve Springs may not be able to match the performance of Desmo gear trains dude...

 

Topic for discussion at HQ????

 

What say you?

 

(But not tonight bro, meeting old friends for dinner)