In general, it is a good idea to strengthen the paths. The bumps are removed, the stones in the aggregate are edged again to provide grip and the voids in the asphalt are smaller giving a larger surface to produce grip and create less wear.
The problem is that asphalt, like a fine wine, must be aged to reach its peak. It takes several months for the asphalt to stabilize, the sharp edges to be removed from the stones, and the bitumen to begin to evaporate. It takes about a year for asphalt to reach maximum grip. The color faded, making the coating less sensitive to direct sunlight, the stones reached the desired consistency and more bitumen evaporated, opening the spaces between the stones, generating less heat in the tires.
The new surface of Aragon has not yet reached this stage. It is still dirty, the asphalt is closed and it is very dark. The bitumen continues to evaporate, creating greasy areas and making grip levels unpredictable. All this made the MotoGP morning session – and indeed all three categories – a total waste. “Today the conditions were quite difficult because the track was very dirty,” Michelin rider Piero Taramasso said during his evening press conference. “The new asphalt with oil and a fairly high temperature did not help the grip. Also, once off the clean line, you lose front control, rear grip, the tendency was for the tire to spin too much. , it was difficult to sing on the bike. So, since the morning, we have no information. Aleix Espargaro realized that he was wasting his time. He took his bikes out to check that they were working and he put in moving tires that did not he doesn’t like it. “With the soft tires in the morning I can’t stop the bike. It’s impossible for me,” said the Aprilia official. “And with the rear average and a dirt track, I only have the two bikes, I tried bike 1, bike 2, and I’m on both, and that’s it. No risk.”
He finished last, 3 seconds off Marc Márquez’s best time in the session and 5.4 seconds off the lap record. But he then helped drive home the message that the morning session was meaningless by finishing the afternoon session second fastest, four thousandths of a second off the old lap record set in 2022 by Pecco Bagnaia. Márquez went one better, breaking Bagnaia’s lap record, becoming the first driver to lap 1’45 at the Motorland Aragon circuit. One word used by many drivers to describe the grip was strange. Luca Marini, the most eloquent and analytical mind on the MotoGP circuit, explained it best. “It’s just different compared to all the other tracks we’ve done this year. Because it was really strange this morning, it looks like the tarmac needs a few more years to be ready, but that’s good.”
Márquez’s lap record showed that control was not low, Marini said. “In the end, the control is not so low because we improved the lap record. It’s just weird. Because you enter the corner and you hear the bike bumping like that, in the entry it’s easy not to slide, but then when you touch the gas, sometimes you have good control and sometimes it doesn’t make the driver’s job easier , – the Repsol Honda rider told us. It’s a little special. And above all, there is very little grip in the front, which is never a problem, but in this circuit the cobblestones do not seem to have enough space, so in every “Once you lean, the more you lean, the more for the tire to It goes under like that and it’s a little hard to come back.”
However, it can be improved. “Now the track will improve and on Sunday it will be perfect. Just a little more rubber on the ground,” said Marini.
The lack of space between the stones and the sealed asphalt surface allowed for good grip, but also generated a lot of heat in the tires. In the morning, the Ducati riders were out with black front wheels, with nicer wheels designed to match the rest of the outfit. In the afternoon, however, the Ducati factory returned to the white rims, intended to dissipate heat from the brakes and tires. Other manufacturers have taken similar measures. Aprilia installed brake cooling ducts and heat shields behind the rotors to prevent brake heat from radiating to the wheels and heating up the tires.