As Motorsport.com reports, MotoGP tyre supplier Michelin has taken the extreme step of banning the soft compound for tomorrow's Japanese Grand Prix following acute tyre difficulties for some riders during today's sprint race at Motegi. Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia were particularly affected by high temperatures on the soft rear compound, leading to worrying television images and some speculation that Michelin would mandate the use of the hardest compound for Sunday's longer race. However, the French company stopped short of a full mandate, contenting itself simply with ruling out the soft tyre.
Speaking on Saturday evening, Michelin motorsport boss Piero Taramasso pointed to the relaid track surface at the venue. "Motegi’s new high-grip asphalt, combined with a track temperature of around 40°C and an exceptionally fast sprint pace, generated very high rear-tyre temperatures. The race was completed nine seconds faster than in 2025," Taramasso said. He noted that the impact varied significantly across the grid, with some riders experiencing substantial blistering while others finished without major issues due to differences in riding style, bike setup, wheelspin, and energy transfer.
For Sunday, Taramasso explained the updated allocation: "Michelin has withdrawn the soft rear from the race allocation. The medium remains available but will require careful management, while the hard rear, featuring a reinforced casing, is Michelin’s recommended option for riders looking to maintain a strong pace throughout the race." That reinforced hard option is the same compound used in Thailand, Brazil, and Austria.
The Japanese GP sprint itself saw Marc Marquez taking victory ahead of Diogo Moreira, Martín, and Bastianini. The latter two riders were penalized one position for exceeding track limits on the final lap. In slow-motion reviews of the images, what stood out most was the terrible condition of Jorge Martin’s bike’s rear tyre, which was completely destroyed. "I don’t even know how I finished, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to finish the race," said Martin, who was the slowest rider on the entire grid on the final lap, losing more than a second to Bastianini and Moreira. If the race had lasted another hundred metres, both would have passed him. Even more concerning was Pecco Bagnaia’s rear tyre, which was completely split through the centre of the rubber.
The entire grid had opted for the soft rear compound for the sprint, except for Marco Bezzecchi and Jack Miller, who went for the medium. "I chose the medium option, it was working well, especially on the right side. But in the centre of the tyre it had quite a lot of blistering. Not at Pecco’s level, but close. So tomorrow we will all have to use the hard compound. I can almost guarantee it," said Miller. Bezzecchi, who finished sixth, added that he chose the medium because he was on the limit with the temperature on the soft yesterday, though it did not turn out as well as he expected.
While Yamaha and other teams suggested extending Sunday morning’s warm-up session to understand the situation with different engine maps, MotoGP is sticking to its scheduled kart race involving the riders after the warm-up. The situation leaves many doubts ahead of Sunday's crucial race, recalling the 2013 Australian GP when then-supplier Bridgestone imposed a mandatory bike change due to tyre wear limits.
