MotoGP: Francesco Bagnaia Highlights Serious Problem With Michelin Tire

Saajan Jogia | Sep 23, 2024

Apr 15, 2023; Austin, TX, USA; Francesco Bagnaia (1) of Italy and Ducati Lenovo Team takes turn 11 during the MotoGP Sprint Race at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images / Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia pointed out a significant issue with his Michelin tire that led to a sudden decline in his pace during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Although he was able to regain some performance from the tires, he ultimately retired from the race following a "strange" crash on Lap 21.

Bagnaia started the second Grand Prix at Misano from pole position. However, he had to then give up the positions to both Martin and his teammate Enea Bastianini, as he struggled to keep pace with the front runners, owing to the lack of rear grip from his medium compound Michelin.

Unfortunately for Bagnaia, the gap widened to as much as three seconds by the halfway mark, even coming under threat from Gresini rider Marc Marquez at one instance. However, in a drastic turn of events, the tire on his GP24 suddenly came to life from Lap 15, leading him to set the fastest lap of 1:30.877s.

By the time Bagnaia regained his pace, his race came to an abrupt halt when he crashed at Turn 8 on Lap 21. This marked his third retirement of the season, leaving him with a 24-point gap to championship leader Martin. Speaking about the events that unfolded on Sunday, he explained to the media:

“I was pushing a lot and I was doing 1m31.8, 31.7, 31.8 [laps on a consistent basis].

"And then in a moment from one lap to another lap, I dropped the lap time by six-seven-eight tenths without doing anything, just riding.

“The rear was not working. I was like a cone for other riders.

“This medium rear was the one from the start of the weekend so it has to be the best one, but it wasn't working for 15 laps. So it's really strange.

“Then it was super good. I started to be super-fast, like I was expecting my pace was.

“After the start, I was leading, I was quite sure to open a gap and then going away because my pace was super good [until the tyre issues].”

When asked about Michelin's potential impact on the championship, Bagnaia added:

“It's a shame. But I know 100% that Michelin doesn't know what happened with the tyres.

“This is a problem but they don't know. They want to give to us the same chance every time, but for some reason sometimes it's not working the same.

“So this is a huge problem that is making the championship not balanced at this moment."

Elaborating on his crash that occurred after the 27-year-old rider lost his Ducati's front, he said:

 “I don't know what was normal today. Everything was strange this morning.

“I was [going] straight. It was 32C and normally in dry conditions you can't crash with 32C.

“I didn't brake hard, I braked 80 metres before the fastest lap I did. And I still lost the front like I touched a bump that is not there. Strange but everything was strange from the start.”