Brad Binder believes that he and his team took a too cautious approach to the bike setup at the Japanese MotoGP, expecting the rear tire to be more fragile than it actually was. Like all other MotoGP riders, Binder opted for the hard rear tire during Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
This hard tire was a blend of the soft compound’s rubber and the tougher, heat-resistant design used in Austria. Michelin introduced it as a precautionary measure to avoid any issues with the standard tires on Motegi’s recently resurfaced track. During the Sprint race, some riders experienced blistering on the soft compound tire, causing chunks to break away from the center.
Due to these problems, the soft rear tire was withdrawn from the race options for Sunday, with Michelin advising all riders to use the hard tire for the full race distance. Since the hard tire was considered a backup option, no team had tested it in race conditions prior to Sunday. All 22 riders experimented with it during the extended Warm Up session that morning, and it performed well enough that everyone chose it for the race.
However, because there was little data and no one could run close to race distance on the hard tire in the brief Warm Up, establishing the optimal setup was difficult. Binder admitted that his setup was on the conservative side, as his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team anticipated the rear tire center to be delicate — but that turned out not to be true.
“We used the hard rear tire in warm up,” Binder said after the race at Motegi. “Right from the start out of the pits, I thought, ‘These aren’t bad.’ I was pleasantly surprised; it was actually pretty good. In the race, everything felt okay. We basically dialed things back a bit, thinking we needed to protect the tire’s center. In reality, I think it could have lasted for three race distances. It wasn’t the smartest call we made, and unfortunately, the best I could manage was 11th place, so it wasn’t a great weekend in Japan.
“I honestly thought I could have done better, but I think I hurt my chances when I pushed hard in Q1, which made the rest of the weekend more difficult.”
Fan Take: This story highlights how crucial tire strategy and bike setup are in MotoGP, showing that cautious choices can sometimes limit a rider’s full potential. For fans, it’s a reminder that even the smallest misjudgments can significantly impact race outcomes, keeping the sport exciting and unpredictable.
Source: www.crash.net
