Carl Fogarty lambasts MotoGP's most controversial rule

Carl Fogarty has slammed MotoGP’s controversial front tyre pressure rule following a farcical finish to the Czech Grand Prix sprint.

Current regulations require riders to keep front tyre pressure above 1.8 bar for at least 30% of a sprint and 50% of a full-length grand prix, with heavy time penalties imposed on those who fall foul of the limits.

On Saturday, factory Ducati rider Marc Marquez was forced to slow down by more than three seconds and surrender the lead to KTM’s Pedro Acosta in order to bring his tyre pressure back above the mandated threshold.

Although Marquez was able to breeze past Acosta on the final lap and avoided a penalty following a post-race investigation, the bizarre way in which his race unfolded thrust the spotlight back on the divisive rule and how it is enforced.

Even Marquez’s teammate Francesco Bagnaia dropped from second to seventh after his bike dashboard warned him about falling tyre pressures, although it later transpired that he had never dropped below the requirement and the warning had been issued in error.

Carl Fogarty critical of MotoGP tyre pressure rule

Following the controversial ending to the sprint, four-time World Superbikes champion Fogarty joined the chorus of critics of the rule in an expletive-laden post on social media.

“This tyre pressure rule is a f***g joke.!!!! Who gives a f**k what tyre pressure you run?!!!” he wrote.

Fogarty has been a frequent critic of modern MotoGP technology, telling Crash.net in an interview in 2022 that the series has become like Formula 1.

"All the bikes are the bloody same," he said.

"The bikes are so good and the technology is so good that it’s taken away from the rider in some ways."