Extra soft tyres unlikely in MotoGP in 2016

Special tyres like the extra soft rear option currently available to Open class riders are likely to be binned when Michelin takes over from Bridgestone as official tyre supplier in MotoGP in 2016.

In a bid to help the Open class teams be more competitive against expensive and gadget laden Factory machinery, an extra soft rear was made available for the likes of Aleix Espargaro, Scott Redding and Nicky Hayden.

Softer tyres for non-factory machinery were first introduced in 2012 when the CRT category was introduced.

CRT machinery was based on highly tuned production-based engines like the BMW S1000R and Kawasaki’s ZX-10R.

But a lack of power meant riders frequently struggled to generate enough heat in the tyres, so softer specs were introduced into the allocation for the CRT class.
The spec of the current Open class bikes is now much closer to Factory prototypes and has negated the need for different tyre specs.

Espargaro’s Forward Racing Yamaha is effectively a YZR-M1 engine and chassis spec that Cal Crutchlow rode in 2013.

And Race Director Mike Webb said it was almost certain that in 2016, the entire grid would have access to the same tyres, with no rider benefitting from softer compounds.

Webb told MCN: “When the first CRT bikes were made the normal tyres were unusable because they just could not generate any heat. But now even the truly independent bikes (Avintia Kawasaki) are getting a lot better and they are able to use a harder tyre and the production racers made by Honda and Yamaha are so close to a race bike that they can use the tyres. The need for the super soft is going away and by 2016 we should all be on the same tyre.”