Ai Ogura<\/a>, who showed incredible speed to charge to fifth late in the race, was able to stay within the 1m32s bracket. A drop-off is always expected over a race distance, but the scale of degradation at Buriram was striking.<\/p>\nExtreme heat and tyre specifications<\/p>\n
To understand why tyres became such a limiting factor during the race, it\u2019s important to consider the unusually tough weather conditions on Sunday. After some rain earlier in the weekend, the race day was bone dry, with ambient temperature reaching 34C and track temperature peaking at 58C. This means that the tyres were already being pushed to the limit.<\/p>\n
For Thailand and Indonesia, Michelin supplies a stiffer rear tyre carcass designed to cope with high thermal stress. While the teams now have enough experience with this construction, it does have an impact on the way their bikes perform on track. Marquez, for instance, said that this specific casing was partly behind Bezzecchi\u2019s dominant performances at Mandalika last year and again in Thailand.<\/p>\n
Marquez\u2019s case
\n ![\"Marc](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772396770_857_marc-marquez-ducati-team.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team<\/p>\n
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography \/ LAT Images \/ via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Marquez\u2019s retirement was more complicated than just temperature and tyre composition, however. The rear tyre of his Ducati delaminated after a kerb strike at Turn 4, something which Michelin put down to the kerb being too aggressive. However, Marquez also pointed out that he had ridden over the same kerb \u201chundreds\u201d of times in the pre-season test, so a more thorough analysis would be needed for a complete picture.<\/p>\n
“I was riding in a safe way, but I was unlucky,” Marquez said. “Because I jumped that kerb a hundred times in the [pre-race] test, for example.<\/p>\n
“[It was the same] during the practice. And it never happened, what happened now. Because normally those kerbs are made so that you can jump out in a good way.<\/p>\n
“But when I jumped out, I felt already that the rear tyre exploded. With a big hit also on the rear.<\/p>\n
“Normally, we jump out many times on the double kerbs. But this time when I jumped out, there was like a big rock there. And it destroyed and exploded my rear tyre.”<\/p>\n
Mir also loses big points
\n ![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/joan-mir-honda-hrc.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Joan Mir, Honda HRC<\/p>\n
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography \/ LAT Images \/ via Getty Images<\/p>\n
In Mir\u2019s case, the rear tyre had degraded so much that it started affecting the electronics system. The situation became so severe that he felt it was no longer safe for him to ride.<\/p>\n
The 2020 champion explained that he received no warning about the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoyed all the race till I had a problem with an external supplier,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cWe have to check properly what [happened] because it was very strange.<\/p>\n
\u201cNormally, you feel a drop on everything, but in this case I had to retire, I could not even stay on the bike because it was dangerous. Also, the electronics of the bike were not working properly, so the bike was stopping.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we were all struggling a lot with the tyre management, but this was something different, so we have to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Marquez and Mir were the most visibly affected, tyre management proved a major challenge across the field. Teams and manufacturers engineered some clever solutions to deal with the issue, with riders limiting use of the ride-height device at certain corners to conserve tyre life.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to note that some other tyre-related issues earlier in the weekend had gone under the radar. Jorge Martin escaped a penalty in Saturday\u2019s sprint because the drop in tyre pressure was caused by a leaking wheel rim. Given how strictly those rules have been enforced since their introduction, the decision suggested clear evidence of a mechanical cause.<\/p>\n
Michelin later revealed that it had received other tyres with bent wheel rims during the weekend, suggesting that the issue was more widespread than initially assumed. However, it\u2019s important to draw a distinction, as Michelin suspects broken wheel rims were caused due to kerb strikes, rather than related to the weather or an inherent defect with the tyre.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarc told us: \u201cThe only mistake I made was going wide\u201d. He hit the kerb, the wheel bent, so the air came out and the tyre came off,\u201d said Michelin MotoGP chief Piero Taramasso.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a shame for him because at that point he was the fastest on the track. We had this problem all weekend, we had a lot of wheels that were bent when they came back under our pit tent because it was very hot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe material is really soft and the kerbs are very aggressive. For example, Jorge Mart\u00edn’s loss of pressure at the front yesterday was the same thing: he hit a kerb, the front wheel bent and the air came out. Jorge had a slow leak and Marc lost air all at once.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABAAAAAJCAYAAAA7KqwyAAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAABpJREFUeNpi\/P\/\/PwMlgImBQjBqwLAwACDAAOVfAw9\/ZDvcAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC\")
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