Michelin has withdrawn its soft rear tyre from the Japanese MotoGP Grand Prix allocation after major problems emerged during Saturday’s 12-lap Sprint at Motegi. The medium rear remains available for the longer race, but Michelin has recommended the reinforced hard option and MotoGP has doubled the Sunday warm-up to 20 minutes.
The decision followed visible blistering and damage on several soft rear tyres in the Sprint, most notably those used by Aprilia’s championship leader Jorge Martin and Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia. The change leaves teams choosing between a medium Michelin says needs management and a reinforced hard option that had not yet run at Motegi.
Marc Marquez won the Sprint for Ducati, while Martin was classified third after a final-lap track-limits penalty. That result reduced Martin’s lead over Marquez to seven points, according to Autosport. With Martin’s lead cut to seven points, tyre selection is likely to be a significant consideration for the full-distance race.
Soft rear removed after Sprint blistering
Michelin said it had removed the soft rear from the race allocation after analysing the conditions and tyres from the Sprint. Its motorsport manager Piero Taramasso attributed the difficulties to the combination of Motegi’s relaid, high-grip surface, track temperatures of around 40C and an exceptionally fast race pace.
Autosport reported that Michelin said the Sprint was completed nine seconds faster than the equivalent race in 2025. Taramasso also said the effects were not uniform across the field, with riding style, motorcycle set-up, wheelspin and the energy transferred through the rear tyre all affecting the result.
That variation was evident in Saturday’s race. Martin struggled badly with rear grip late on while running the soft tyre, and Bagnaia retired one lap from the finish after severe tyre damage. Michelin’s account, reported by Crash, said several other riders also encountered problems, although Marc Marquez completed the Sprint victory without the same issue.
The soft compound had been used by most of the grid. Marco Bezzecchi and Jack Miller instead selected the medium rear, but Miller also suffered blistering. Michelin said Bezzecchi’s medium tyre was in acceptable condition. The medium remains available, although Michelin has warned it requires careful management.
Medium remains legal but hard tyre is advised
The remaining choice gives teams two different approaches. Michelin has kept the medium rear in the allocation, but Taramasso said it would need careful management. The supplier has instead recommended the hard rear, which uses a reinforced casing intended to cope better with the demands identified at Motegi.
Crash reported that Michelin considered the medium the riskier of the two available solutions, while stressing that its condition could be controlled by limiting wheelspin and reducing the stress placed through the tyre. That leaves riders and teams to decide whether to manage the medium or use the reinforced hard.
There is limited current-event knowledge of the hard tyre. Specialist reports said it had not completed a lap during the weekend before Michelin’s decision, despite being part of the original allocation. The extended warm-up gives teams additional time to try the hard rear before the race.
Michelin stopped short of making the hard rear compulsory. There has also been no announced reduction in race distance or a requirement for a mid-race tyre change. The practical consequence is that the Grand Prix remains a conventional race, but one in which tyre selection and management have become unusually prominent.
Title contenders face altered race preparation
The development arrives after a Sprint in which Martin and Enea Bastianini were each demoted one place for final-lap track-limits infringements. Diogo Moreira was promoted to second behind Marc Marquez, with Martin third and Bastianini fourth.
Martin’s tyre difficulties were particularly relevant because he had led Marquez in the championship and started from pole position. His late loss of pace left him vulnerable to Moreira and Bastianini before the penalty cost him another position. Marquez’s victory consequently narrowed the standings gap to seven points.
That does not establish how the Grand Prix will unfold, particularly because the tyre issue affected riders differently in the Sprint. The extended warm-up gives teams the opportunity to evaluate the hard rear before choosing between it and the medium for the Grand Prix.