By: Over the past weekend, as well as watching F1 action at the Malaysian circuit, motorsport fans were able to enjoy another important round of the MotoGP world championship at Motegi, where Marc Marquez, on Ducati, managed to cut the gap to Jorge Martin, on Aprilia, to two points. The title battle has come alive, and Marc Marquez's recovery was also made possible by Jorge Martin's unfortunate tyre choice for the Sprint Race.
Martin and Bagnaia had both felt quite comfortable with the rear Soft during practice and believed it would be the best choice for the Sprint Race. Unfortunately, however, they had not taken into account that the characteristics of the Motegi circuit, combined with temperatures of 40°C, could trigger a highly damaging phenomenon in the Michelin tyres: blistering.
What is blistering?
It occurs when lateral forces become particularly severe and are further exacerbated by high track temperatures. The tyre overheats and the compound effectively begins to ‘boil’. This leads to the formation of surface bubbles which, when they burst, cause a loss of tyre material, generally creating the characteristic groove that runs around the contact area between the compound and the asphalt.
Massive vibrations for @88jorgemartin during that Sprint 🫢 #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 https://t.co/9vqWaIgYx9
— MotoGPâ„¢ðŸ (@MotoGP) October 3, 2026
A phenomenon F1 has forgotten
Fortunately, F1 has not heard much about it since 2020, if memory serves. That is because both the teams and Pirelli have done a huge amount of work to contain and eliminate the problem. At Motegi, Michelin was caught largely unprepared, to the extent that it had to ban the use of the rear Soft for Sunday's race.
The riders, particularly Martin and Bagnaia, said they were especially surprised to have to contend with this phenomenon. The good news for them is that Pirelli will take over tyre supply from 2027 and, having already dealt with the issue in F1, may already have put precautions in place to ensure there are no similar problems at any circuit on the calendar.
Photo: X, MotoGP
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