Aprilia and KTM are at a loss to explain why they struggled to extract the maximum performance out of Michelin’s new MotoGP rear tyre all year in 2024.
One of the biggest changes in MotoGP this season was the introduction of Michelin’s new grippier rear tyres, which played a major role in riders breaking long-standing lap records at several circuits.
While Ducati was able to exploit the new rubber from the very beginning of the season and get a headstart, its rivals were still scratching their heads when the season concluded in Barcelona earlier this month.
Three-time MotoGP race winner Aleix Espargaro said he regularly sought answers from Aprilia over the course of the year, but the team was puzzled about the RS-GP’s inability to make the new tyres work in 2024.
“I don’t understand. It’s the same question that I’m asking my engineers and they don’t have the answers,” he said in Barcelona.
“We analysed many, many parameters and we worked so hard trying to understand many things. We had luckily the information of the ’23 bike on some circuits with Raul [Fernandez] with the new rear tyre.
“[But] there is something that we cannot put together. We do not have traction, we do not have grip. Only Ducati is enjoying it and we are struggling a lot.”
Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team, Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Making the rear tyres work was a key strength for Ducati in a season in which it won 19 of the 20 grands prix. It’s also an area where its GP24 prototype had a distinct advantage over the year-old GP23, with the Borgo Panigale engineers having designed the new Desmosedici around 2024-spec rubber.
While the new tyres lowered the lap times at most circuits, a major side-effect was increased rear chatter, which affected all bikes at some point over the course of the season, including Ducati’s.
Outgoing KTM rider Jack Miller thinks the Italian manufacturer was not only able to eliminate chattering, but also set the bike up in a way to maximise mechanical grip.
Asked why KTM couldn’t make the rear tyre work all season when Ducati was so strong in this area, the Australian replied: “[It]s a million dollar question. Could be about a 40 million dollar question!
“I wouldn’t say we haven’t worked it out. The others are on a very strong stretch at the moment, but we have been getting closer and closer and at least been able to battle with them in…
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