Michelin bans soft compound for MotoGP Japanese GP

Following acute tyre difficulties for some riders during today's sprint race at Motegi, MotoGP tyre supplier Michelin has taken the extreme step of banning the soft compound for tomorrow's Japanese Grand Prix. 

Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia were particularly affected by high temperatures on the soft rear compound, leading to worrying television images and some speculation that Michelin would mandate the use of the hardest compound for Sunday's longer race. 

However, the French company did not go to quite such lengths, contenting itself simply with ruling out the soft tyre - an option few riders would have been seriously considering anyway. 

Michelin's motorsport boss Piero Taramasso gave the following comments following the decision on Saturday evening, referencing among other things the relaid track surface at Motegi.  

"Motegi’s new high-grip asphalt, combined with a track temperature of around 40°C and an exceptionally fast sprint pace, generated very high rear-tyre temperatures. The race was completed nine seconds faster than in 2025.

"The impact varied significantly between riders. Some experienced substantial blistering, while others completed the sprint with no major issues. Riding style, bike setup, wheelspin and the amount of energy transferred through the rear tyre were key factors."

Explaining the decision for Sunday, Taramasso said the hardest compound was recommended for Sunday. 

"Michelin has withdrawn the soft rear from the race allocation. The medium remains available but will require careful management, while the hard rear, featuring a reinforced casing, is Michelin’s recommended option for riders looking to maintain a strong pace throughout the race."

In addition, MotoGP has also confirmed that the warm-up session will be doubled in length on Sunday morning to 20 minutes, allowing the teams a chance to try the hard rear before the race.

Tyres decisive in championship run-in

As the championship enters its decisive phase with the start of the Asian tour, the Motegi sprint served as a reminder that tyres are becoming a critical factor.

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

The Japanese GP sprint saw Marc Marquez taking victory ahead of Diogo Moreira, Martín and Bastianini, the latter two being penalised one position for exceeding track limits on the final lap. The Aprilia rider went onto the green paint by millimetres, almost imperceptibly, but in the reviews of the images, in slow motion, what stood out most was not whether he went off the track, but the terrible condition of his bike’s rear tyre, which was completely destroyed.

“I don’t even know how I finished, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to finish the race,” said Martin, who was the slowest rider on the entire grid on the final lap, in which he lost more than a second to Bastianini and Moreira. If the race had lasted another hundred metres, both would have passed him.

But if the sight of the Aprilia was worrying, even more so was that of Pecco Bagnaia’s rear tyre, which could be seen completely split through the centre of the rubber, something that not only makes it impossible to ride, but which is also very dangerous.

The entire grid opted for the soft rear compound for the sprint, except for Marco Bezzecchi and Jack Miller, who went for the medium.

“I chose the medium option, it was working well, especially on the right side. But in the centre of the tyre it had quite a lot of blistering. Not at Pecco’s level, but close. So tomorrow we will all have to use the hard compound. I can almost guarantee it,” said the Australian, indicating where things could be heading.

Given that none of the teams have practiced with the hard tyre so far this weekend, despite it being part of the official allocation from the beginning, Yamaha and other teams suggested the extension to Sunday morning’s warm-up. 

“It would be interesting to have more time in the warm-up, simply to understand the situation, as the engine map will be completely different,” Miller said in support of that option.

Despite the Australian being so clear about the situation, others such as Fabio Quartararo were not so categorical.

“To be honest, I think the soft will be the option for the race," said Quartararo before the decision to ban it was announced. "If we can choose, I think I’ll go for the soft. But we’ll have to see what the plan is." 

Marc Marquez also said, “I’m not ruling out the soft as an option for the race”, although that sounded like a kind of ‘bait’ from the Ducati rider to see if anyone would take it.

The situation, however, became more tense as the afternoon progressed at Motegi, until Michelin made the decision to rule out the soft and recommend the reinforced hard. That's the same compound used in Thailand, Brazil and Austria, where the Aprilias were very fast and the Ducatis suffered enormously.

“I chose the medium tyre because yesterday, with the soft, I was fast but I was a little on the limit with the temperature. The thing is, it didn’t turn out as well as I expected. It was a strategy for today. I hope tomorrow goes better,” Bezzecchi said after the sprint, in which he could only finish sixth.

The situation leaves many doubts ahead of the crucial race this Sunday and that recalls the 2013 Australian GP, when the then supplier, Bridgestone, imposed a pit stop to change bikes, as they were not certain that the tyres would last all the laps.

That day, Marquez came into the pits one lap late to change bikes and was shown a black flag, which nearly cost him his first MotoGP title.

Additional reporting by Vincent Lalanne-Sicaud