- A challenging debut for the renewedAutódromo Internacional de Goiânia – Ayrton Senna, which hosts the Grand Prix of Brazil and welcomes the Motorcycle World Championship back after 37 years. Following adverse weather conditions that lasted until yesterday, a racetrack issue forced the organisers to revise Saturday’s schedule, rescheduling the Moto3™ qualifying after the Sprint Race and postponing Moto2™ qualifying to Sunday morning. The circuit has shown very high grip levels and low wear for Pirelli tyres over the first two days, both in dry and wet conditions. However, some uncertain variables remain: if asphalt temperatures rise significantly, the circuit may become more demanding on tyres than what we have observed so far.
· Joel Esteban (KTM) took pole position in Moto3™. The Spanish rider completed his ninth lap in 1’26.241, securing a top spot on the grid and the new all‑time lap record for the circuit. Joining him on the front row are Valentin Perrone, second, and Hakim Danish, third, for an all‑KTM podium. All three fastest-racing riders used medium SC2 tyres at the front and soft SC1 tyres at the rear.
· Qualifying took place with 31°C of air temperature and 40° of asphalt temperature.
Adverse weather affected the new circuit experience
“As Goiânia is a basically new circuit for everyone, Friday’s sessions were extended to allow riders to familiarise with the track, but heavy rain made the day largely unproductive. Wet tyres were used in FP1, while in the afternoon sessions riders switched to slicks, although the still‑damp track resulted in significantly slow lap times. Therefore, the Saturday morning FP2 was the only truly meaningful session for teams, riders and Pirelli to gather useful data ahead of the races.
The asphalt offers excellent levels of grip, and both wet and dry tyres showed very limited wear. However, the fast layout and potentially high asphalt temperatures could lead to a significant increase in internal tyre temperatures. This morning, due to yesterday’s rain, the red clay brought onto the track surface reduced grip and affected the tyre performance, particularly in Moto3™ – the first category to test the track. This caused some graining on the right‑hand shoulder – more affected due to the circuit’s layout. If it doesn’t rain again, we expect the track to evolve well by tomorrow.
An incident affecting the track surface forced changes to the day’s schedule, and causing only the Moto3™ qualifying to take place today, while the Moto2™ qualifying has been postponed to tomorrow morning. In Moto3™ qualifying, riders successfully employed the softer rear options, even though the tyre choice for tomorrow’s race could be more uncertain. With the circuit’s high mechanical grip, the difference between the soft SC1 and the medium SC2 narrows considerably, making them both viable options, according to the bike setup and the riders’ preference”.
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