Our interview with Jack Miller, MotoGP Ducati Lenovo Team rider, on the importance of motorcycle tyrewarmers on the track:
Why are tyrewarmers important?
“We are relying more than anything on tyrewarmers, we expect to leave the box with the same consistency every time, simply because they are basically the only thing we can control: the temperature of the tyres and their working ranges. Having that amount of precision in tyrewarmers makes us feel safe and is definitely crucial for our performance.“
Did the importance of tyrewarmers change during the past years?
“Undeniably the importance of tyrewarmers has changed over the past years. Nowadays you can't take any of these tyres and use it without heating it properly. It would be a disaster, but back in the days, when I was a kid, I remember that where I was living it was really hot and we never used tyrewarmers there. It was a shock for me, when I realized that I have to rely on an accessory to build up the temperature instead of building it up myself. “
How does it feel to go out on track with a cold tyre and did it happen to you?
“Yes, it happened, and trust me, it is a horrible feeling to go out on a cold tyre and it generally ends up in a high-side. I have had two or three really big ones on my outlaps, while entering a corner really, really slow, doing nothing strange, but as soon as you put the bike on the angle you loss grip and with a cold tyre the bike goes completely sideways firing you high in the air. You normally don't slide in these occasions, but you bounce straight in the air, so it's a really terrible feeling. It may seem exaggerated, but already if you have a very long pitlane like here in Portimao or in Le Mans the temperature of the tyre drops a lot just with the amount of time which it takes us to go out of the box. That's the main reasons why we got the pitlane in Portugal shortened, which underlines how crucial it is to have a correct tyre temperature for our safety and performance. “
Find out our Motorcycles Tyre Warmers, chosen by the Champions.
