The Tire Fix Didn't Fix It
Last year, when races became processional, the cause was attributed to an imbalance in tire quality. It seemed when Bridgestone got it right Michelin didn’t, and vice-versa. Michelin had lost, after the 2006 season, the advantage of being able to build 'Saturday night specials' at the workshop in Clemont-Ferrand and shipping them out in fast vans so that, at European rounds, top riders who wanted something special after qualifying could get new tires built to their request in time for the morning warm-up. Giving up their geographical advantage over Bridgestone (producing all race tires in far away Japan), and, at the same time, having to deal with a 31-tire per rider per event limit, Michelin struggled to the extent that MotoGP's greatest superstar, Valentino Rossi, handicapped, he believed, by Yamaha’s contract with Michelin, caused such a fuss that Dorna CEO Ezpeleta, proposed opening bidding for a single tire supplier.
This got everyone’s attention very quickly and Bridgestone and Michelin negotiated unilaterally a new deal, still denying Michelin the right to build and supply over-nighters, but increasing the number of tires available per rider at events to 41.
Early this season, when Bridgestone and Michelin were trading wins over the first four rounds, the quick fix seemed to be working. There was, briefly, a sort of parity... but it still seemed that when Michelin was working Bridgestone was not, and vice-versa. Then, after the season's fourth round in China, Bridgestone took the advantage, winning five of the next six races. Pedrosa won on Michelins in Catalunya, but Rossi, with two wins, and Casey, now on three in a row, have donned their red Bridgestone caps on the top step of the podium in the other five. Bridgestone leads 7-3 as the show rolls into Laguna Seca where Bridgestone riders were dominant last year.
But even micro-managing
the tire situation (Dorna pressured Bridgestone to supply Rossi with tires this year, causing a wall to be built to separate FIAT Yamaha teammates, Lorenzo, on Michelins, and Rossi, on Bridgestones) has not produced the close-racing that the old 990s often offered.
The culprit? Traction control says Rossi. Valentino, the only rider that Ezpeleta seems to listen to, has come out and said, “We need to take a step back in tires and electronics.”
Remember the Daryke Singletary country song “Too Much Fun?” What Rossi is saying is that the bikes are too good -- tires have too much grip and the traction control works too well. (“It's like a girl too pretty, with too much class/being too lucky, a car too fast…")
While every MotoGP rider I have talked to agrees the 800s are faster around a racetrack, they still regret the change to 800s. Casey Stoner's comment is typical: “If we were going to change the displacement we should have gone to 1200cc instead of 800cc.”
Eurosport TV analyst and four-times 500cc runner-up Randy Mamola has been the most out-spoken on the subject. “This has become like Formula 1…boooooring! The electronics package is controlling the throttle off the corners, not the riders. If you try and push the bike out of its electronic comfort zone, you crash.”
Rossi agrees. “Now the rider is less important. Before it was possible to come from deep on the grid and go to the front. It was possible to take advantage of good throttle control to attack late in the race when all riders were sliding on used tires, but now the fastest lap may be on the last lap. The tires are so good and the electronics do so much that the rider cannot over-ride his machine to make up. If he does, he crashes. After practice we all know where we are and we line up that way after a few laps. This is not good for fans and not good for racing.”
