Marco Bezzecchi
Ducati test rider Michele Pirro believes Marc Marquez is more “afraid” to push during Grand Prix races than he is in Sprints due to his concerns about Michelin’s 2026 tyres.
Marquez has so far been more competitive during the Sprint Races than he has been during Grands Prix in the 2026 MotoGP season, after finishing P2 in the Buriram Sprint and winning the Goiania Sprint. He may also have won the Sprint in Thailand without receiving a penalty.
Race control ordered Marquez to drop a position on the final lap in the Buriram Sprint, after he forced his way past KTM rival Pedro Acosta for the lead. The podium was his target in the Thailand Grand Prix, but he retired with a puncture after damaging the wheel rim on a kerb.
Track conditions cost Marquez P3 in the Brazilian Grand Prix last week, as he ran wide on the loose tarmac and opened the door for Fabio Di Giannantonio of VR46. But Marquez won the Sprint Race in Brazil, after overtaking Di Giannantonio to claim his first victory of the season.
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Michele Pirro thinks Marc Marquez is ‘afraid’ the hard Michelin rear tyre causes too much front tyre wear
Pirro believes Ducati were not in the fight to win the Thailand GP or Brazilian GP as they are still trying to understand Michelin’s hard rear tyre. Michelin supplied its heat-treated harder carcass in Buriram and Goiania, and Pirro does not feel Marquez is that happy to push on it.
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While the shorter distance of the Sprint Races allows Marquez to not focus as much on tyre management, Pirro believes the 33-year-old is “afraid” to attack in the Grands Prix as it risks wearing out the front tyre. Pirro is not sure what might change for Ducati in America, either.
Pirro told Moto.it: “We’re a bit, let’s say, less competitive at the moment with the hard tyre at the rear. Whereas when he knows he can push, maybe in the Sprints where the race is shorter, well, he’s more competitive
“Because with the rear tyre, in the end, you end up putting the front tyre under strain too, so he was afraid on Sunday about wearing out the front tyre.
“Then the race was shortened, so there are lots of factors to take into account. Let’s wait and see what we can get out of Austin.”
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The Circuit of the Americas is another punishing track for Michelin’s tyres, so the brand has offered its symmetric soft and medium front and rear tyres for the United States Grand Prix. The rear tyres are also reinforced on the right-hand side to cope with the circuit’s demands.
Marquez may hope that Michelin only supplying two compounds, and neither set being the hard tyres, will help him to challenge for potentially the win in the Grand Prix at COTA. He is a COTA specialist with seven wins in Austin, Texas but last won the Grand Prix there in 2021.
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