Will Ducati’s confusing Michelin tyre problem persist in Indonesia?

Michelin will bring its reinforced MotoGP tyre casing to this weekend’s Indonesian Grand Prix, though how it will impact Ducati remains unclear.

The intense temperatures, abrasive surface and fast layout of the Mandalika track force Michelin to bring a heat-resistant tyre to the Indonesian race weekend.

It does so at the Thai, Brazilian and Austrian Grands Prix typically, while also having one stiffer tyre available last weekend in Japan.

Though the tyre is aimed at safety, it tends to offer slightly less grip than the standard one and alter the bike feeling for some brands.

Most notably, it’s a tyre Ducati has had a hard time with over the last year.

It won on the casing comfortably in Thailand and Austria last year, yet the factory GP25s struggled on it at Mandalika, while Fermin Aldeguer on the GP24 dominated.

This year, the stiffer tyre casing has worked well for Aprilia, while Ducati has struggled more. But Marc Marquez was close to the podium in Thailand and had pace to get onto the rostrum in Austria.

And in Japan last weekend, Marquez won on the stiffer hard tyre.

Explaining why this was the case, Gresini’s Alex Marquez told reporters, including Crash, on Thursday at Mandalika: “I think the new asphalt helped us a lot.

“And it’s true that the rubber was quite soft in Motegi, so that also helped with that casing.

“But here the casing is different compared to Motegi.

“But here this one is like more edge grip, compared to the one we had in Austria, and the grip level in this track always quite high. So, it can be different.”

The casing brought to Mandalika is the same as used in Thailand, while Michelin says the compounds are the exact same as in 2025.

In theory, then, Ducati faces a tough weekend given its struggles on those tyres last year. Davide Tardozzi noted in Japan that he was expecting Indonesia to be a tough one.

Marquez was more pragmatic on Thursday in the pre-event press conference: “As I said in Motegi, I will try to attack every single circuit. This is the target; I will try to do my best.

“The most important thing is that I feel a bit better, we set up the bike in a different way.

“So, let’s see. Obviously, it’s a circuit that suits Aprilia riders and Aprilia bike a bit better, and we will try to be close to them.”