Tyre drama completely overshadowed the MotoGP sprint race paddock at Motegi, leading Jack Miller to make a bold prediction. Following severe degradation issues that plagued multiple riders during Saturday's action, the Australian rider believes Michelin will be forced to mandate the untested hard tyre for Sunday's grand prix.
The half-distance sprint was defined by massive tyre wear, hitting front-runners like Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia particularly hard on the soft rubber. Martin barely salvaged his afternoon despite losing over a second on the final lap, eventually conceding a position after running wide at Turn 10, while Bagnaia suffered a terrifying complete delamination of his rear tyre's centre section.
The wear wasn't exclusive to the soft compound, either. Marco Bezzecchi mysteriously lacked pace on the medium, and Miller himself encountered heavy blistering on the same rubber. Being one of the very few riders to gamble on the medium for the sprint, Miller admitted his tyre was far from pristine at the chequered flag.
"I went for the medium option. It had blisters all over it, so yeah, it will be hard tomorrow for all of us," Miller remarked. He explained that he chose the compound primarily for stability rather than outright edge grip, but the centre tread suffered severe heat blistering under the intense Motegi strain.
With a completely resurfaced layout and stiffer construction tyres brought by the French manufacturer, riders had initially avoided the hard compound due to a lack of data. However, given the unprecedented wear rates witnessed in the sprint, the grid now braces for a potential eleventh-hour rule adjustment by Michelin to ensure safety.
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