{"id":3337,"date":"2026-10-03T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=3337"},"modified":"2026-10-03T10:49:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T13:49:41","slug":"michelin-bans-motegis-soft-tyre-but-warns-the-medium-is-still-risky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/motogp\/michelin-bans-motegis-soft-tyre-but-warns-the-medium-is-still-risky\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelin bans Motegi\u2019s soft tyre \u2014 but warns the medium is still \u201crisky\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Michelin recommends the hard rear<\/strong> for Sunday\u2019s Japanese Grand Prix.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The medium remains permitted, but requires careful management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Miller suffered blistering on the medium during the Sprint, while Bezzecchi\u2019s tyre was unaffected.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Michelin has warned that the medium rear remains a risky option for Sunday\u2019s Japanese Grand Prix<\/strong>, despite leaving it available after withdrawing the soft. Teams and riders can still choose between the medium and hard, with the supplier recommending the latter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The distinction matters for <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/motogp\/\">MotoGP<\/a> at Motegi: <strong>withdrawing the soft does not mean the remaining options offer equivalent durability<\/strong>. Michelin\u2019s two-wheeled motorsport manager, Piero Taramasso, explained that managing wheelspin and tyre temperature will be essential for anyone choosing the medium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Michelin recommends the hard rear<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMichelin\u2019s suggestion is to use the hard,\u201d Taramasso said in an interview to <em>The Race<\/em> after Saturday\u2019s Sprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reinforced hard uses a construction designed to dissipate heat, also used at the Austrian round. The medium is more resistant than the withdrawn soft, but Miller\u2019s Sprint tyre showed that it can still develop blisters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bezzecchi and Miller provided contrasting examples on the same compound:<\/strong> the Aprilia rider\u2019s medium remained clean, whereas the Yamaha rider experienced blistering. Taramasso explained that reducing spinning and the energy put into the rear tyre can help keep its temperature under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut for sure the medium will be risky,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A decision with consequences for Sunday<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The hard is recommended, rather than mandatory.<\/strong> Riders choosing the medium will therefore need to weigh its performance against the management required over the race distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That creates an additional question for the teams before Sunday. A tyre that demands more restraint can affect acceleration, overtaking attempts and the ability to respond when another rider increases the pace. Conversely, committing to the hard requires confidence in how the motorcycle performs with that option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The key comparison will be sustainable race pace. A rider may feel comfortable during the opening laps, but the decision must also account for how much performance remains later in the grand prix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MotoGP returns this weekend, from 2\u20134 October, to Japan. <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> will cover all the action at Motegi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">MotoGP today: FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who leads the 2026 MotoGP championship?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jorge Mart\u00edn leads the 2026 MotoGP World Championship with <strong>333 points, just two ahead of Marc M\u00e1rquez on 331<\/strong>. The gap was reduced at Motegi, where M\u00e1rquez won both the sprint and Japanese GP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What time is the Indonesian MotoGP at Mandalika?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Indonesian GP starts at <strong>15:00 local time on Sunday, October 11<\/strong>. That is 08:00 in the UK, 03:00 ET in the US and Canada and 12:30 in India. Saturday&#8217;s sprint also starts at 15:00 local time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Has Marc M\u00e1rquez ever won at Mandalika?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. M\u00e1rquez has <strong>never won or even finished the Sunday MotoGP race at Mandalika<\/strong>. His previous Indonesian GPs have been affected by crashes, injury and mechanical trouble. He arrives in 2026 only two points behind Mart\u00edn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is the medium rear tyre banned for the Japanese MotoGP?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. It remains available alongside the hard rear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The medium remains available for Sunday\u2019s Japanese GP, but Michelin recommends the reinforced hard rear following Saturday\u2019s tyre problems<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020316848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Sprint race start at Motegi","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Michelin","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":59,"location":""}],"footnotes":"","42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[38],"tags":[277,586,284,705],"42wp_author":[59],"class_list":["post-3337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motogp","tag-jack-miller","tag-japanese-gp","tag-michelin","tag-motogp-tyres","42wp_author-fabricio-carvalho"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3338,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3337\/revisions\/3338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020316848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3337"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=3337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}