MotoGP Tire Pressure: Jorge Martin on Thai Grand Prix Penalty List
Categories: MotoGP
Published: 29th October 2023
MotoGP’s new minimum tire pressure strikes in Thailand. Aleix Espargaro loses fifth place as four riders fall below the advised level, including Jorge Martin.
MotoGP’s new minimum tire pressure rule, which has been in effect since Silverstone, has found its first victims.
Four riders, including Aleix and Pol Espargaro, Marc Marquez, and race winner Jorge Martin, failed to maintain the minimum tire pressure advised by Michelin.
As a result, the race outcome in Buriram had to be revised. With Aleix Espargaro receiving a three-second time penalty, dropping him from fifth to eighth place, Fabio Quartararo, Marc Marquez, and Luca Marini have been promoted by one position each.
Marquez fell below the minimum pressure too but hadn’t received a warning in earlier races yet. Only a repeat offense leads to a three-second penalty.
| 1st violation | Warning |
| 2nd violation | 3-second penalty |
| 3rd violation | 6-second penalty |
| 4th violation | 12-second penalty |
Just like Marquez, race winner Jorge Martin escaped a three-second penalty as he would have fallen to fourth place behind Francesco Bagnaia, Brad Binder, and Marco Bezzecchi.
However, as the Spaniard hadn’t violated the tire pressure rule earlier in the season, he received an official warning. Any violation from now on will result in a time penalty for Pramac’s title challenger.
Even more worrisome than Michelin’s warning though is that Martin wasn’t aware of his violation at all. During the post-race press conference, Martin explained:
“With me it was okay. When Brad Binder overtook me, that’s when the tire pressure shot up, but I was able to control the temperature again and fight back.”
The looming penalty certainly won’t be helpful in the fight for the title. With three races remaining in 2023, Martin has closed the gap to Francesco Bagnaia in front to a mere 13 points.
