VOL. 55 ISSUE 11 MARCH 20, 2018 P89
but had been instituted by Dorna at the
request of riders, and was in line with exist-
ing freezes on engine and fairing design.
Although development will continue,
the French company has said, it will be
targeted at 2019, while tires for this year's
racing have already been predetermined.
They will include some changes from last
year, already seen at preseason tests.
Rossi, loyal to the company that played
such a big part in his championship heyday
(the main beneficiary of weekend-specific
tires, made overnight and delivered on
race day), looked on the positive side.
This year's approach, he said, was similar
to Bridgestone's—tires with "a very high
potential, but not much development in
the last seasons, so the tires were always
the same. It can be positive and negative,
but the tires have reached a good level,
so I think it is okay to have the same tires
for the season." Dovizioso was guardedly
in agreement. "You have to be a bit lucky
because your tire has to fit your bike and
your style. But the other side is positive,
because you have stability and can work
more on your bike." But Marquez, at the
same pre-race conference, took the op-
posite view. "We have some new tires, and
we don't know how they will feel on other
tracks. We need to have some flexibility,
so we can try a new thing but maybe come
back to the old one." Fellow Honda rider
Cal Crutchlow, talking to press later, was
more outspoken. "It's a joke," he said. "I
support Michelin, but their tires can decide
the championship." Consistency was the
problem. In tests here, he had run 26 laps
on a set of tires, then fitted a new set and
been significantly slower. He stopped for
a third set (all supposedly identical spec),
and was straight back up to speed. "I
don't think quality control is what it should
be," Crutchlow said. "You'll see races this
year ruined because one rider is forced to
choose a tire that doesn't work."
Briefly...
