As Motorsport.com reports, tyre degradation dominated the Saturday sprint at Motegi, leaving Pramac's Jack Miller to "almost guarantee" that Michelin will mandate the untested hard tyre for the grand prix. The newly resurfaced circuit chewed up rubber during the half-distance race, creating massive drama for the frontrunners.
Jorge Martin, riding for Aprilia, barely clung on to a podium finish after shedding over a second on the final lap, eventually losing a spot to Tech3's Enea Bastianini at Turn 10. Meanwhile, factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia suffered an outright disaster when television cameras caught his rear tyre completely delaminating, forcing him into the pits with a lap remaining.
It was not just the soft compound causing headaches. Miller was one of only two riders to gamble on the medium rear, and he found his machine covered in blisters. "In the centre of the tyre she was pretty blistered out. Like, a lot. Not Pecco level, but not far. So, we'll all be on the hard tomorrow. I can almost guarantee it," Miller explained after the sprint.
That hard compound features the reinforced casing seen at Spielberg, but with the circuit fully resurfaced for this year, riders completely avoided touching the stiffer Michelin option across the weekend. In fact, Miller joked earlier in the event that he would pack up and go home if forced to run it. Now, that reluctant choice looks inevitable.
If the hard rubber becomes compulsory, the Australian expects a scramble to understand it before lights out. Yamaha technical director Max Bartolini was reportedly set to request a 20-minute warm-up session just to let riders figure out the mapping, as all setup work done so far would be rendered useless.
Not everyone faced the same disaster, though. Most KTM runners sailed through the distance without trouble, and sprint winner Marc Marquez believes the soft remains a viable race option. Factory Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo, sharing machinery with Miller, echoed that sentiment, stating he would willingly choose the softest compound if given the freedom to pick.
