2009 tyre proposals leaking out
October 18th, 2008A couple of sources in the paddock have provided details of the Bridgestone tyre proposals for 2009 in advance of the formal announcement later today. The FIM have already pronounced Bridgestone as sole tyre supplier this morning in Malaysia, and these proposals were distributed to the riders on Friday night. MotoGPBlog understands the proposals are as follows:
- 20 tyres per rider per weekend.
- the 20 tyres available consist of 8 fronts and 12 rear tyres.
- there will be two compounds available, split evenly across the 20 tyres.
- seven compounds in all will be made by Bridgestone, but only two will be available at any single weekend.
- only one carcass construction will be available.
- there will be a limit on the number of tyres available for testing.
The initial response of the riders to the one-make proposals was positive, they agreed that they would not oppose the rule, and indeed there was a positive approach by many riders that they would finally be getting Bridgestones. Following the briefing this weekend, this mood has changed to one of dissatisfaction. This stems from the lack of options available to them each weekend in 2009 compared to their options now. It is very much a case of “be careful what you wish for”.
Secondly, the limit on the testing tyres will severely limit the number of testing sessions, and who can take part. MotoGPBlog believes this restriction may be as low as 150 tyres per manufacturer per season (as reported on Eurosport on Saturday) in which case only the factory riders in each team will get any testing of any significance whatsoever. Bridgestone may be forced to increase this limit, but this may indicate why Qatar and Sepang winter tests are likely to be axed, and why the Valencia test this year has been largely curtailed.
Why are Bridgestone making so few tyres available to the teams? It is a question of cost. Bridgestone will not receive any funding from the teams, the FIM or Dorna for the supply of the tyres, the tyres are supplied at Bridgestone’s cost entirely. There was no competing bid for the supply, so what Bridgestone offered is what the Grand Prix Commission have had to accept, and is what the teams must make do with.
It will be a brave new world for the riders and teams in 2009, and yet another year in which the ground rules have significantly changed. It will have a profound influence on the performance of the teams and the riders’ race results; the riders able to get the best out the rubber available through setting up their chassis and suspension will be the ones getting the results.
October 20th, 2008 at 2:18 am
I know there has been much discussion about the tire rules going
this way related to price, etc, but it seems to me (and others?!) this will increase
the lap times we see around the track next year. The fact that
qualifiers are also out tends to make me even less enthusiastic.
Why was there zero discussion of going back to something like the
old rules before the tire number limitations were put in place last year?
Yes, it was claimed that at European tracks Michelin could pump out a new formula
each weekend to gain advantage there, but there should have been a better
way to even the odds than what we ended up with for 2009.
Sad to see Michelin off the track and an inferior type of tire (type, not manufacturer)
forced upon everyone next year.
October 20th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Mike: The official line as to the reasons for the change are to slow the bikes down to make the safety requirements at circuits less onerous. Dorna will also be hoping it will make it cheaper to compete (unlikely - development budgets will go into frames and suspension) and so get more bikes on the grid, plus, and this is the real hope, make the racing closer and increase audience numbers.
It is an inferior tyre. It’s also no longer a true prototype series.
Will it be cheaper? Probably not
Will we see more bikes on the grid? No, see previous answer.
Will the racing be closer? Well, it will certainly be slower. Closer is debatable.
Will it be safer? Marginally.
October 20th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
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October 23rd, 2008 at 6:45 pm
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