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

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

One of many largest 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 in a position to 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 frequently sought solutions from Aprilia over the course of the yr, however the crew was puzzled in regards to the RS-GP’s incapacity to make the brand new tyres work in 2024.

“I do not perceive. It is the identical query that I am asking my engineers they usually haven’t got the solutions,” he stated in Barcelona.

“We analysed many, many parameters and we labored so onerous attempting to know many issues. We had fortunately the data 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 should not have traction, we should not have grip. Solely Ducati is having fun with it and we’re struggling so much.”

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 sooner or later over the course of the season, together with Ducati’s.

Outgoing KTM rider Jack Miller thinks the Italian producer was not solely in a position to eradicate chattering, but in addition set the bike up in a method 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. May very well 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 now we have been getting nearer and nearer and a minimum of been in a position to 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 in a position to, with no matter they’ve, whether or not it will be mass damper, whether or not it will be a few of their methods, they’re to start with in a position to eradicate the vibrations [and then] set the bike up the place they will actually use the rear tyres as the assistance that you simply want.”

Ducati had the largest presence of any producer on the grid in 2024, because it provided bikes to 3 satellite tv for pc groups along with its manufacturing facility squad.

Jack Miller, Pramac Racing

Photograph by: MotoGP

Miller feels having eight bikes was an enormous think about Ducati gaining an early understanding of Michelin’s new rear tyres this season.

“After all, that can be one other large issue I believe as properly,” he stated. “The quantity of information they’d have gotten via Malaysia [test] and onwards. It is a soar begin for positive, when it comes to boys attempting alternative ways to go about organising for what was the vibration within the preliminary stage. 

“I believe the vibration is affecting all people otherwise but it surely’s so much lower than what it was, that is for sure. 

“However nonetheless like I stated we [KTM] usually are not in a position to make use of the efficiency of the rear tyre which is clearly evident that it’s there.”

Further reporting from Germán Garcia Casanova and Oriol Puigdemont