One of the most memorable moments in the 2023 MotoGP season took place in Losail, with Jorge Martín as the protagonist. The Spanish rider had a terrible start to the long race and even mentioned sabotage to his tire, which practically ended his title aspirations. Now, weeks later, Michelin reaffirms that there was nothing wrong with the Spanish rider’s tire.
Pierro Taramasso, the Michelin’s top official in charge of MotoGP, in an interview with Australian Motorcycle News, recalled the episode and the controversy brought to the public by the rider: ‘After the Qatar race, everyone saw Jorge’s statements, but we understand his position. He was fighting for a championship, with a lot of adrenaline and all that. But, as always, we take this matter very seriously.’
And so with the desire to defend himself and make it clear that the tires are the same for everyone, Taramasso set out to investigate what happened and ensures that nothing abnormal happened: ‘The first thing we did was call France and check the manufacturing process, if all the tire construction parameters were correct. We received the answer. The answer was yes, everything was fine in the manufacturing process’, he said, before concluding and putting “a stone” on the subject:
– Therefore, there was no quality issue with Jorge Martín’s tire.
