After it emerged in 2022 that quite a few groups had been making the most of a gray space within the rules and working tyre pressures outdoors of the really helpful minimal restrict, new rules had been applied for 2023.
For 2023, riders and groups should adhere to a minimal entrance tyre stress of 1.9 bar (27.6psi) and 1.7 bar (24.7psi) on the rear.
Nonetheless, this rule coming into pressure has been kicked down the highway on a number of events this 12 months to permit for extra testing of the unified tyre stress sensors to happen.
The rule will now be mandated from August’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Because the system is new, the minimal entrance and rear pressures shall be monitored solely within the dash race and grands prix.
Penalties shall be dished out on a sliding scale, with a primary offence copping a warning, with every subsequent contravention of the rule leading to a time penalty: three seconds, then six, then 12s to be added to a rider’s outcomes.
Disqualification will ultimately be applied for any rider caught working their tyres outdoors of the minimal pressures as soon as groups are used to the system.
Throughout pre-season testing in February, plenty of riders raised issues over security underneath the brand new rules – significantly with the entrance tyre pressures.
Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photograph by: MotoGP
“We labored rather a lot on the brand new guidelines of stress, which can be attention-grabbing,” Alex Marquez stated on the Sepang check earlier this 12 months.
“The entrance one, truthfully, has no sense, particularly for the race, as a result of it may be unsafe.
“For the rear one, I completely agree. The entire weekend, time assault, every little thing [I was running above the minimum level].
“You may be disqualified [in the race]. In Australia, I believe, 13 riders would have been disqualified, or one thing like this. Since you by no means know on the race the place you may be.”
Throughout testing of the system, some riders – together with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro – discovered that the numbers being returned by their producers’ tyre stress sensor and the brand new spec system didn’t match.
Because the season has gone on, some riders have complained in regards to the difficulties they’ve confronted in overtaking on present MotoGP bikes, with rocketing entrance tyre pressures a part of this challenge.