The unexpected referee who could decide the MotoGP title

The penalty imposed on Aleix Espargaro in the last Thai GP for the race with pressures below the minimum set by Michelin, revealed an unexpected factor that could lead to being the judge who will decide the 2023 MotoGP World Champion. Silverstone, the driver running below the minimum pressure receives a warning after the first offence. The second time has a penalty of three seconds at the end, the third has six and the fourth has twelve.

Aleix Espargaro He was the first to be sanctioned, as he got the warning at the Indonesian GP, ​​two weeks before the Thailand GP, where those three seconds were dropped. Three seconds relegated him from fifth place at the finish line to eighth. In the same race, Jorge Martín – making a football simile – saw how they gave him a yellow card for breaking the minimum pressure rule for the first time. And based on what happened to Aleix, Martín is now in the red zone, risking punishment for the slightest slip. A situation where, for example, his rival Pecco Bagnaia is not.

Just a few days ago, Mr. Borsoi, Team Pramac manager Jorge Martín admitted that Buriram’s warning was a setback that would force them to change their entire strategy in the championship.

Let’s make a parenthesis here to explain this thing about minimum pressure. Why was it introduced? How is it controlled? And the consequences of violating it. The first thing to say is that this seems like a simple and clear rule; a closer look reveals many nooks and crannies, but let’s get to the parts.

The origin

Pressure control is usually a requirement from Yamaha and its origin is odd to say the least. It was born when Andrea Dovizioso, the rider of Team RNF, asked the Yamaha engineers to start with a lower front tire pressure than they were used to. They told him that it was not possible, that they were already using the minimum pressure recommended by Michelin, to which Dovizioso explained, without giving importance, that this was common practice when he was at Ducati.

That’s when Yamaha engineers’ ears perked up, and they started asking for pressure control… And the storm broke loose.

Discussion here, discussion there, and in the end a minimum pressure set by Michelin was established, saying that doing it below could compromise the tire’s safety and performance. It is clear that Ducati, due to its experience, doubts this, but finally accepts Michelin’s argument, but puts on the table that due to the nature of the Michelin front tire, its pressure varies depending on race in which the rider competes.

For a driver riding alone, the pressure remains more or less constant, or if you prefer, it increases in a controlled manner. On the other hand, if the driver is involved in a group race, the pressure will increase until he ends up in a place where the performance of the tire goes into crisis. And what is more dangerous, this is Ducati’s argument, starting with low pressure at the beginning or allowing the pressures to go to levels of lack of performance that question the driving during the race?

After countless endless discussions, the rule established is the following: The minimum pressure must be respected for at least 50% of the laps of the Sunday races, and at least 30% of the distance of the races of sprinting. . To make it clear, you can usually start a race below the set minimum, if the average is in accordance with the regulations. That means no one on the grid is verifying anything.

In order to carry out this control, it was decided to install pressure sensors inside the plain to monitor the pressures in real time. This happened last season, in 2022. But someone forgot to standardize these sensors, so each team used the one they considered the most suitable. Result, standard cannot be introduced due to lack of comparison between different sensors…Brilliant!

In 2023, a specific sensor will be established, which in real time, that is, as the motorcycles roll on the track, sends information from each of the wheels, whether front or rear. A complex operation, which requires a trial period. Therefore, pressure control will officially come into effect at the English GP this season.

Application history of the standard

Since then, eight drivers have been cautioned for tire pressure defects, and one, Aleix Espargaró, has been penalized. We usually talk about forward, because usually there are no problems behind.

The minimum pressure required – as explained before – is 1.88 bar, and this can vary depending on the circuit where the competition is held. The differences are in any case minimal. To get an idea of ​​the magnitude we’re talking about, Espargaró was penalized at Buriram for a front tire pressure defect of 0.02 bar.

Incidentally, this control played a role that could be decisive in the final sprint for the championship. Mr. Borsoimanager of Team Pramac, admitted that Jorge Martín’s warning in Buriram was a serious setback for his strategy.

“We plan to reserve that letter for Valencia. In Cheste, with the cold that we estimate will be there, being able to start with low pressure is important because of the larger contact surface at the beginning the tire heats up. earlier. Now, it is necessary let’s be careful, while Pecco can still use that wild card.”

“What happened in Thailand was that we planned that in the race Martín would ride behind the drivers who showed a better speed than him in practice. Thinking that the tire pressure would increase in the race, we started with a certain pressure. It just so happened that Jorge started first and did the whole race by himself.”

As it is, the situation of Martín will force him and the team to be very careful with the pressures in the three remaining GPs, because a new slip will mean, since the races are ending today, leaving many points in the back. And to think that a 40-race championship was decided by a few hundred bars is sad, to say the least, isn’t it?