[kropotkin thinks...] - Lack Of Tire Testing At Phillip Island Causes Moto2 And MotoG

[Ninjette Newsbot]

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The lack of tire testing prior to the Phillip Island round has caught both control tire companies out. Race Direction has decided to shorten the Moto2 race from 25 to just 13 laps, while the MotoGP race will now include a compulsory pit stop to swap bikes, and the race length has been cut by one lap from 27 to 26 laps. In addition, the MotoGP riders are prohibited from using the softer option rear tire, and will be forced to use the harder option. Both decisions were taken on safety grounds, after it was found that neither the Moto2 spec Dunlop nor the MotoGP spec Bridgestone can handle race distance on the newly-resurfaced tarmac. The lighter, less powerful Moto3 bike are not affected, and the Moto3 race will run the scheduled length.

The compulsory pit stop to swap bikes, turning the race into a dry-weather flag-to-flag race for the first time in MotoGP history. This will be a repeat for the Australian circuit, as it also hosted the first flag-to-flag race where riders actually swapped bikes back in 2006, the year the rules were first introduced. It turned out then that Phillip Island's narrow pit lane made the bike swaps rather hazardous, and the rules laid out for Sunday's MotoGP race will only make a tricky situation much, much worse. Bridgestone is unable to guarantee the safety of the tires beyond 14 laps, and so that means that all 23 MotoGP riders will be in the pits between the end of lap 12 and the end of lap 14. There is a good chance that the vast majority of the riders will come in either on lap 12 or lap 13, however, to give them the best shot at maintaining their position. With the dry surface dictating the lap time, there is no advantage to be gained from staying out an extra lap, or pitting early. An attempt to mitigate the danger, the speed limited area of the pit lane has been extended. However, this wil see bikes both braking closer to the racing line to pit, and rejoining at slower speed on the outside of the extremely fast first corner.

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