Hamane's Hint, Dorna's Bombshell
In Japan the first indication of a sea change came when Masumi Hamane, the tough new HRC boss, said at the press conference called to announce Pedrosa's signing for two more years, that Honda would listen to the requests of the factory riders, Pedrosa and Hayden, and was seeking Bridgestone. He went on to say that Bridgestone had rejected the proposal, but that Honda was still working to "attend our riders' requests."
When quizzed how this situation could be resolved and asked, "But what tires will you run in 2008?" he amazingly said, "That will depend of Bridgestone and Dorna."
What he meant became clear the next day.
Many well-meaning 'purists' in the media center protested to themselves, each other, and their readers, saying that Grand Prix racing was above control tire regulations, and, one assumes, above Formula 1 as well in the purity scale.
Would the MSMA Permit This? Would the FIM Stop it?
The answer is that only the MSMA can stop a move to single tire. It works like this: When technical rules are involved the MSMA have extraordinary powers. An MSMA technical proposal with the full support of all members passes automatically. But if a technical proposal reaches the MSMA and all members vote no, the measure is stopped cold -- a virtual veto.
If, however, at least one member votes in favor of the proposal, the MSMA vote is registered as a simple no, but not a veto.
There are four voting powers in the Grand Prix Commission where these things are decided: Dorna, IRTA (Teams), MSMA, and the FIM. In case of a tie, Dorna casts the deciding vote.
Democracy, MotoGP-Style
And IRTA always supports Dorna so Dorna's proposal for a single tire supplier already has two votes. Assuming the MSMA voted 'no' but with at least one factory supporting the single tire rule, that would be just a simple
negative vote. If the FIM then voted no, the tie would be broken by Dorna.
In practice, however, the FIM would probably not oppose if the outcome was clear in advance, although new FIM President Vito Ippolito has publicly said that he opposes a single tire rule in Grand Prix racing, so the Venezuelan, who comes from a strong, hands-on racing background (his father, the Venezuelan Yamaha importer, took Johnny Cecotto and Carlos Lavado to the World GP series and Vito Ippolito himself managed Lavado's team), just might weigh in on this even if the FIM lacks the power to block the rule.
Name a single major series that still has a 'tire war.' That's right, just MotoGP, and, unless there is some backroom dealing between Bridgestone and Michelin to 'guarantee' close racing in 2008, you can include MotoGP into the list of championships that have a single tire supplier, along with the likes of F1, World Superbike, and NASCAR.
If this happens it will finally mean that every rider on the grid has access to competitive tires, and that is certainly not the case at present, even among riders of the same suppliers.
But a word of caution was sounded by a man who might be expected to support the concept: Pirelli's Motorcycle Competition Director, Giorgio Barbier. "It won't be easy and the riders will complain in the first year because the MotoGP tires were designed to suit individual riders and bikes. If MotoGP go to a single tire they will have many problems short term."
World Superbike had teething problems as well in the first year of the new system, but there was much less attention focused on SBK in 2004. If MotoGP goes to a single tire as expected with Bridgestone, all problems will be magnified by the greater exposure of the series. Perhaps this is a risk that Dorna is prepared to take to prevent another season of runaway races.
TV viewers don't care if the riders are happy, they just want to see fighting in a pack for the lead.
