Yamaha and Honda riders have had a lot to complain about through the 2024 MotoGP season, however one of the vital widespread feedback has been about points getting the rear tyre as much as temperature.
That was a selected downside finally weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, the place it affected all six of them to a point and severely hindered their efficiency within the opening laps of the race.
Fabio Quartararo made it as much as ninth on one of the best Yamaha, with LCR’s Johann Zarco the highest Honda in twelfth, however the bikes’ race tempo as soon as the tyres had been as much as temperature was stronger than the outcomes recommend.
Quartararo was maybe essentially the most vocal on the difficulty.
“I had good tempo within the second half of the race,” the 2021 world champion defined, “however within the first half I almost high-sided 5 or 6 occasions.Â
“There was one zone of the tyre that was by no means prepared, and I used to be all the time shedding the rear fairly aggressively.Â
“We now have to enhance this space, as a result of it’s Mandalika and right here the place we actually struggled to heat the tyre from the start. We now have to know why.”
Whereas Quartararo feels Yamaha hasn’t figured it out but, subsequent door within the Repsol Honda storage Luca Marini has a idea.
“For certain it’s a matter of weight distribution within the bike,” Marini mentioned when requested about the issue by The Race after ending 14th.
“We now have a lot weight within the entrance, as a result of prior to now the bikes had been like this, particularly with Bridgestone tyres.
“At all times successful on this approach, with this conventional strategy to construct a motorbike for the Japanese.
“For the rider, it’s improbable to have this type of feeling with the entrance tyre, however the issue is that the rear – which is one of the best a part of the Michelin tyres – we can’t use all the potential of it.
“The goal for subsequent 12 months will likely be for certain to attempt to change the load distribution somewhat and to load the rear tyre extra, like the opposite bikes do.”
That idea isn’t precisely a brand new one – Honda and Yamaha having lengthy been considered having considerably missed the boat when it comes to MotoGP’s aerodynamics revolution and are solely now engaged on bikes whose design ideas higher mirror the route during which their rivals have travelled.
Whereas Marini’s idea would possibly clarify a relative weak point of Honda proper now, he believes it additionally highlights the strengths and weaknesses of considered one of its rivals as properly.
“I believe we’ve got to have a look at KTM particularly,” he added, “as a result of they’re the masters of this.
“Their tyre is prepared in lap one. Perhaps typically, they push an excessive amount of on the rear tyre and that is why each time Jack [Miller] and Augusto [Fernandez] go to the again, typically additionally Brad [Binder].
“Perhaps they’re on the other facet, however we’ve got to work and attempt to analyse them and to attempt to enhance this case.
“For my part if we’re in a position to clear up it, we are able to combat for P7 or P8 – however we’ve got to discover a answer to this downside.”
The excellent news for all on Hondas is that Marini believes the crew is edging nearer to understanding the difficulty, with a marked enchancment over this season due to modifications to the bike’s steadiness and new aerodynamic upgrades.
“We already solved many issues,” he careworn, “and now the situations are significantly better than final 12 months or initially of the season.Â
“Collectively, we had been in a position to work deeply on this and check out many issues, and now we’ve got a greater situation.
“However nonetheless when the compound is so onerous, it’s troublesome for us.”
