Tires play a crucial role in MotoGP, and Yamaha has been going through a phase in the category that falls far short of what it has previously demonstrated. Fabio Quartararo has frequently complained about the lack of rear grip, and this has been one of the points that has received much attention from Max Bartolini.
The Italian, who is the manufacturer’s technical director and responsible for the V4 engine project development and new bike development, spoke to Crash about the importance of tires in MotoGP and about the focus of their work:
– Normally, of the two tires [front or rear], you always work on the strongest tire. For Bridgestone, the strongest was the front tire. The rear basically remained almost constant during the race, it never really dropped [in performance].
The category then began working with the French supplier, and that’s when the focus shifted in terms of work priorities, as Bartolini recalled: ‘Then, if you remember in 2016, when we started with Michelin, the rear was very strong [but the] front was very difficult to manage. Many crashes [in the first test]’.
There has been constant improvement in the tires, with much responsibility and merit going to the supplier, which earned praise from Bartolini, who also remembered how proper use of the rear tire makes the difference: ‘Then Michelin did an excellent job because the front is now very, very, very much better than at the beginning. But the rear remains very, very strong, which is why riders talk so much about rear grip. Whoever can use 100% of the rear grip can be faster’.
Quartararo has been one of the main voices of Yamaha’s frustration due to their inability to take advantage of the rear tire grip.
