Between Rossi and Michelin it is a debate that has lasted since the French manufacturer became the sole supplier of MotoGP in 2016. We readily attribute the character of the Auvergne tire to the decline of the Doctor and this theme will be relevant until the end of Vale's career who regrets in Austria, at the end of his failed qualifications, the inconsistency of his tires. But even after Rossi's departure we will talk about it with his academics. Because Bagnaia is not happy either…
Valentino Rossi will start anonymously 18th of this Austrian Grand Prix which he hoped to consider in a better way than that of Styria in the same place a week ago. He thought he could play for the top 10 this Sunday. We have to wait until the race to take stock, but starting from so far away, it won't be easy. Whose fault is it ? Rather to what, because Michelin is highlighted…
Between Michelin et Red, it's a bit of I love you either. In Austria, this Saturday, it was not true love: “II'm not satisfied today, because more was possible », Declared Red annoyed and he gave the reason for his poor qualifications. “ Sadly, the rear tire performed very poorly during the second run. I had no grip and couldn't improve my lap time. Normally, I would certainly have managed to improve it. It's frustrating because I could have started higher on the grid ».
The complaint filed by Red is not new in MotoGP. Again and again, drivers complain about tires that don't provide the desired grip. “ This is a problem, because almost all drivers have this problem sometimes. ", explain Red. " If you do two runs with different soft tires in qualifying, then you can compare well, because the bike and the conditions remain the same. Sometimes the difference becomes quite clear. Some tires are simply better than others ».
Rossi: “making a good motorcycle tire is complicated”
Red also states: “ it's not easy for Michelin. These tires offer a lot of performance, but making a good motorcycle tire is complicated. This doesn't always work. As a pilot, you also need a little luck ". Echoing, his student bagnaia commented with a touch of disappointment and concern on his third place on the starting grid: “ It would seem absurd that something like last Sunday could happen again, but when you heat the tires they don't always work as they should. This morning I did a lap in 22.09, I was going very fast in turns 4 and 6 and I did the whole turn 5 ».
« With the first tire in Q2 I wasn't on track, it was slipping everywhere. With the second tire, I was unable to perform. I'm still third, the pace is good, I just hope I don't have any problems with the tires. My team is experienced and knows how to treat and heat tires. I'm confident, I drove a lot with the worn tire, we did a good job ».
MotoGP Austria J2: qualifying
Credit classification motogp.com
