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With all the warnings and sanctions, like the one that cost Fabio Di Giannantonio second place at Valencia, tyre pressure made headlines in the second part of the last MotoGP season, changing the results of several races. Entering into force from Silverstone onwards for safety reasons, the rule establishes that tyres must respect a minimum pressure of 1.9 bar at the front and 1.7 bar at the rear, to be maintained for 30% of the race distance sprint and for 50% of the Sunday one. But maintaining the right pressure proved to be quite problematic for the riders, who repeatedly complained of a certain difficulty in keeping their tyre pressure low while following their opponents.
A situation that Pit Beirer is not particularly happy about, but the KTM Motorsport Director doesn't want to blame Michelin, the tyre company, instead pointing the finger at the current configuration of MotoGP bikes.
“The tyre pressure issue has nothing to do with manufacturer specifications, because Michelin supplies excellent tyres to MotoGP. You have to think about the excessive load to which a MotoGP front tyre is subjected when a rider travels at 350 km/h, the rear wheel lifts and he still manages to turn the bike - said the former Austrian rider in an interview with Speedweek - What we have in MotoGP in terms of compounds, casings and construction is the most ingenious thing that can exist in the construction of a racing tyre. And if the manufacturer says the front limit is 1.88 bar, we don't want to go below that value. The reason why tyre pressure is so difficult to control lies elsewhere."
Having absolved Michelin, Beirer explained why aerodynamics and ride height devices must be considered the true culprits of tyre pressure management problems.
“The problem has to do with the fact that we have almost built small racing cars in terms of aerodynamics and the cause is to be found in the fact that the window in which the air can no longer cool the tyres is very wide when you ride behind another motorbike - he analysed - This problem, which has been discussed for months, is caused by the ride height devices which, in combination with the aerodynamic packages, aggravate the tyre pressure problem”.
This is precisely the reason why the KTM Motorsport Director believes that changing the current values will in no way help to resolve the issue.
“If we change the tyre pressure limit, everyone will go faster again, so the tyres will heat up even more - said the 51-year-old - Now there is discussion about whether or not we should lower the pressure of the front tyres by a tenth. In my opinion, the problem will not be solved by allowing the front tyre pressure to be 0.1 bar lower than before."
