“Front tire pressure depends on the motorcycle you are riding. It can affect a lot and it affects a lot on our bike”. So begins fabio quartararo in the video of official website MotoGP.com which addresses the thorny subject of managing front tire pressure on a MotoGP.
The Yamaha rider continues: “Then you no longer have support from the front. When you tilt the motorcycle you no longer have grip on the sidewall and the tire moves a lot. I had a problem in Qatar this year. The pressure in the front tire has risen very high and overall you can no longer drive your way: Let's say that the tire then becomes very soft, generally like chewing gum. You can barely do anything and it's very frustrating because you know you could go a lot faster, but you also know that if you push harder you'll fall. Overall, you feel a lot of things on the bike: You have a good feeling but you're going half a second slower, so it's not a good feeling to have. »
His team leader, Diego Gubellini, Explain : “When you're riding behind another bike or a group, overall you don't get a lot of fresh air, and then of course the pressure increases. On some circuits, where the pressure is more critical, we try to simulate a few laps behind other drivers, just to check how much pressure builds when following another driver. »
But he is the man of the art, in this case Piero Taramasso, the Two-Wheel Manager of Michelin Motorsport, who specifies: “It depends on how hard you brake, and that is also important. It depends on the bike, load transfer and weight distribution. There are many other things that can affect this. For example, sometimes they put on record covers. These help with aerodynamics and they can gain speed on the straight, but then you generate more heat which heats the rim which heats the tire. The only way to do it is to slow down a little, or change your trajectory: Get out of the ideal trajectory to get some fresh air to cool the tire, and when the tire is cooled you can attack again. But there is a limit and at the front it is 1,9 bar. You must respect this and you cannot drive below 1,9 for safety reasons. It depends on the riders and the bikes, and on some bikes the front suspension settings. Some drivers are more sensitive, others less. »
This overall insight, as well as the problems encountered during the race by certain drivers, allow the general public to get a first idea of the importance of managing front tire pressure during a race. However, this is far from being detailed enough to really appreciate its extreme finesse, and that is why we will soon publish an article on the subject.
