On Saturday in the sprint race, Jorge Martin's soft rear tire disintegrated, and the shredded rubber pieces affected the RS-GP's rear wing. Due to this incident, Pecco Bagnaia had to finish the race early.
Safety Risk Emphasis
While evaluating the situation where the soft tire was banned before the race and the entire grid switched to hard tires, Massimo Rivola stated that a major safety hazard was present.
There was a clear safety issue on track.
Rivola recounted the situation during the race:
One of our riders finished the race with half of his tire, Pecco left the race, and others experienced the same problem completely. When the tires that appeared undamaged from the outside were cut and examined, blistering was visible on the inside.
Emphasizing the potential danger of this situation, Rivola made the following assessment:
This meant that that tire would eventually blow. And since this was a sprint, no one could predict what would happen in the main race with two qualifying laps.
Pressure on Management and My Solution
Rivola stated that they exerted pressure on management to change the conditions by taking corrective action, saying that they put pressure on management to prioritize safety.
We pressured management to change the conditions by prioritizing safety.
Ultimately, Rivola declared the race successful, referring to Michelin's opinion that everyone used the safest option, the hard tire:
It was successful because in the end, everyone used the hard tire, which Michelin stated was the safest option.
However, he expressed a greater desire for this solution to be achieved without the insistence of a team:
However, I would have liked this solution to be achieved without the insistence of a team. I know other teams disagreed, but I would have banned the medium tire because they have the same structure.
Figures
- Jorge Martin is competing in 333 points in 1st place in the 2026 MotoGP season (Aprilia Racing Team).
- Archive: Jorge Martin Focuses on Points in Second Place Championship Battle (/news/agenda/jorge-martin-ikinci-sira-sampiyonluk-mucadelesinde-puanlara-odaklaniyor) (October 4, 2026)
Read the full story at the original source.
Go to sourceCompiled by Şükrü Utku Poyraz
