Aprilia, KTM not able to exploit new rear tyre all year in MotoGP 2024

Aprilia and KTM are at a loss to elucidate why they struggled to extract the utmost efficiency out of Michelin’s new MotoGP rear tyre all 12 months in 2024.

One of many greatest modifications in MotoGP this season was the introduction of Michelin’s new grippier rear tyres, which performed a serious position in riders breaking long-standing lap data at a number of circuits.

Whereas Ducati was capable of exploit the brand new rubber from the very starting of the season and get a headstart, its rivals had been nonetheless scratching their heads when the season concluded in Barcelona earlier this month.

Three-time MotoGP race winner Aleix Espargaro stated he usually sought solutions from Aprilia over the course of the 12 months, however the staff was puzzled concerning the RS-GP’s incapability to make the brand new tyres work in 2024.

“I do not perceive. It is the identical query that I am asking my engineers and so they do not have the solutions,” he stated in Barcelona.

“We analysed many, many parameters and we labored so exhausting making an attempt to know many issues. We had fortunately the knowledge of the ’23 bike on some circuits with Raul [Fernandez] with the brand new rear tyre. 

“[But] there’s something that we can not put collectively. We don’t have traction, we don’t have grip. Solely Ducati is having fun with it and we’re struggling lots.”

Making the rear tyres work was a key energy for Ducati in a season wherein it received 19 of the 20 grands prix. It’s additionally an space the place its GP24 prototype had a definite benefit over the year-old GP23, with the Borgo Panigale engineers having designed the brand new Desmosedici round 2024-spec rubber.

Whereas the brand new tyres lowered the lap occasions at most circuits, a serious side-effect was elevated rear chatter, which affected all bikes in some unspecified time in the future over the course of the season, together with Ducati’s.

Outgoing KTM rider Jack Miller thinks the Italian producer was not solely capable of remove chattering, but in addition set the bike up in a strategy to maximise mechanical grip.

Requested why KTM couldn’t make the rear tyre work all season when Ducati was so robust on this space, the Australian replied: “[It]s 1,000,000 greenback query. Could possibly be a couple of 40 million greenback query! 

“I would not say we’ve not labored it out. The others are on a really robust stretch for the time being, however we’ve been getting nearer and nearer and a minimum of been capable of battle with them in the previous couple of weeks.

“I really feel prefer it’s simply a type of issues the place they [Ducati] are capable of, with no matter they have, whether or not it will be mass damper, whether or not it will be a few of their programs, they’re to start with capable of remove the vibrations [and then] set the bike up the place they’ll actually use the rear tyres as the assistance that you simply want.”

Ducati had the most important presence of any producer on the grid in 2024, because it provided bikes to a few satellite tv for pc groups along with its manufacturing unit squad.

Jack Miller, Pramac Racing

Photograph by: MotoGP

Miller feels having eight bikes was a giant consider Ducati gaining an early understanding of Michelin’s new rear tyres this season.

“In fact, that can be one other huge issue I feel as properly,” he stated. “The quantity of information they might have gotten by way of Malaysia [test] and onwards. It is a leap begin for positive, by way of boys making an attempt other ways to go about establishing for what was the vibration within the preliminary stage. 

“I feel the vibration is affecting everyone in another way but it surely’s lots lower than what it was, that is for sure. 

“However nonetheless like I stated we [KTM] will not be ready to make use of the efficiency of the rear tyre which is clearly evident that it’s there.”

Extra reporting from Germán Garcia Casanova and Oriol Puigdemont