MotoGP | Taramasso (Michelin) on Martin: “No conspiracy, unfounded criticism”

Michelin MotoGP – Piero Taramasso, Motorsport Manager of Michelin's two-wheel section, spoke to Gazzetta dello Sport, analyzing the 2023 MotoGP season and also Jorge Martin's tyre, who in Qatar had accused the French manufacturer of having given him a non-performing tyre.

Taramasso exonerates Michelin and "accuses" Martin of having driven in Qatar in a way that caused the tire to wear abnormally from the start. Here's what the manager from Cuneo, Michelin manager of two-wheel competitions since 2012, said.

Statements Piero Taramasso Tire Situation Jorge Martin GP Qatar 2023

“It is true that a quiet season ended in an agitated way. I believe many factors contributed: the stress of the fight for the title, the open driver market, the regulation on tire pressure, the introduction of the Sprints which added a nervous load. Then, in Qatar, Jorge's performance not in line with expectations generated controversy and discussion. We did analyzes on the machines where they were built, checked the quality and transport processes, the history of the rubber, whether it had been heated or not: there were no manufacturing or quality problems. That's for sure. A tire that doesn't work, doesn't work on the warm-up lap and already from the first lap makes you be a second slower. The first 6-7 laps are decent, on the 4th and 7th he sets the same time as Bagnaia. He misses the start, but recovers three-four places: if the tire doesn't work, you can't do it. The rest are racing factors that meant that the deterioration of the rear tire, and then the front, ultimately led him to lap a second slower."

Declarations Piero Taramasso Michelin Quality Control

“I invite everyone, pilots, technicians, journalists, to come to France and see where and how we manufacture them. We make a huge effort to have top quality checks and make sure the tires work. We don't want bad publicity, but for the drivers to be happy. We don't invest millions to be accused. Our prices are more expensive, but the quality of Michelin is superior to competitors. We invest tens of millions. We try to produce perfect tires, even if there can be dispersion in an industrial process. But which you can evaluate in 1-2 tenths, margins that fall within a very narrow tolerance. They are tires pushed to the extreme, not the road ones which work the same when inflated at 1,7 or 2,2 bar, but ones of the highest technological level which resist temperatures of 150° and 350 km/h. They are like a rubber band, depending on how they respond: but a different response of 1-2 tenths does not mean that it is faulty.”

Statements Piero Taramasso Michelin Tire Pressure Regulation

“It was necessary for safety. Under minimal pressure, the rubber flexes more and you risk breaking the construction. The rule exists in all championships, MotoGP was missing. And it worked. I'm not saying it's easy to respect, but now the technicians know how to control the values, what margin to take. In the first seven races there were no violations. At the end of the season they took more chances. Knowing that they would get a warning the first time, they played the joker. If they had wanted to always respect the values, they could have done so. We talk to Dorna, Fim and Irta, we don't make the regulations. We can always improve. We always listen to the drivers, but we have to rely on current data. We used this rubber model at 2.0 bar, we dropped to 1.9, today on 8-9 circuits we are at 1.85, which is then 1.82 due to the sensor's tolerance of 0.003. They think they are high values, this is not the case. But if we can meet them, we will. I know what effort we make. Often the criticisms are unfounded, you hear of conspiracies, bad tires given on purpose... it's absurd. Blaming the tires is the easiest excuse. But I'm sorry that no one noticed the 36 records, or how in Indonesia, Qatar and Valencia, on new asphalt, the specifications were on target. It's a good result, few have seen it.”