Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez are both predicting much slower lap and race speeds at this weekend’s Phillip Island MotoGP round after Bridgestone brought tyre compounds designed to avoid last year’s disaster when the rears had to be changed mid-race on safety grounds.
The Movistar Yamaha rider was fastest in free practice today with a 1’29.602 which is almost two seconds slower than his own outright lap record of 1’27.899 and also down on the race lap record of Marquez, which sits at 1’28.108.
“We feel the different, especially of the rear tyre that Bridgestone bring here. It is a big difference because they go on the safety way. They are hard and it is difficult to get temperature for grip in the exit but we are adapting the set-up to work,” said Marquez, speaking at Phillip Island.
Lorenzo said: “The tyre offer much less grip, this is the reality, we are going slower but at least we can finish the race without stopping and changing bikes. Probably we would like to have a little more grip but important thing is to finish the race, not like last year.”
