Luca Marini says Michelin needs to investigate the Japanese MotoGP weekend because of how well its unfavoured third rear tyre option performed at Motegi, turning expectations upside down.
Michelin brought the hard-construction rear tyre to the Japanese venue due to the circuit's newly laid surface and its aggressive stop-start layout. The alternative tyre featured the exact same rubber compound as the soft option allocated for the weekend, but utilized a heat-resistant construction previously deployed at the Austrian round.
The narrative shifted dramatically when the soft tyre was withdrawn from Sunday’s allocation following centre-tread chunking issues experienced by several riders during the Sprint race. The paddock widely anticipated a mass migration toward the medium-compound rear for the Grand Prix.
However, during Sunday morning's Warm Up session, riders tested the hard option for the first time and immediately discovered it was vastly superior, potentially even quick enough for a qualifying time attack. Originally brought strictly as a safety net in case standard allocations failed on the abrasive new asphalt, it ultimately emerged as the most performant rubber available.
"Fantastic! Unbelievable," Luca Marini said of the hard-option tyre after the race. "We still don't understand why, maybe Michelin neither, but it was working so well that if they told us to try and push more to try it on Friday, it was also the tyre for qualifying and also for the sprint race."
The Honda rider emphasized that the manufacturer must analyze the data closely. "Something to investigate for them – this is an advice for them because I spoke a lot now after the race with Michelin, with the engineers, because in my opinion they produced a fantastic tyre for this track."
Reflecting on his weekend struggles, Luca Marini noted how drastically the surprise compound transformed his machine's behavior. "I was complaining all the weekend with the grip and this morning I put this hard rear, the grip was unbelievable. All the problems in the bike were fixed, everything was working well."
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