Jerry Burgess bemoans single tyre rule approval

Legendary crew chief of Valentino Rossi, Jerry Burgess, has criticised the decision to introduce a single tyre rule for the 2009 MotoGP world championship.

The Aussie believes multi-brand competition is a fundamental part of MotoGP and that a vital element of racing will now be sacrificed.

Burgess, who helped guide Rossi to his sixth MotoGP crown in Japan last weekend, told MCN: “I very strongly feel that motorsport is all about competition and every company wants to prove its product. That’s why we went racing in the first place to show what we have is better than what anybody else has got.

“I can accept the show side of it, but when you start making rules that dictate just one thing and you ban something else, why ban anything that you are not scared of?

“I’m sure most of the manufacturers have the ability to strike a contract with the tyre company of their choice and that should be the way it is.”

Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta insists he introduced the single tyre rule on safety grounds, with concerns being raised about the big increase in corner speeds generated by the new 800cc machines.

But Burgess said: “If you want to slow them down you can give them five speed gearboxes or throw another 20 kilos on them. At the end of the day racing is about going faster than when you went last week. Racing is about improvement.

“My feeling was that we needed to leave the sport very much as it is for a stable period so that those that are behind can catch up in terms of development.”

One of the main reasons the single tyre rule was introduced was to help improve the spectacle of MotoGP, with races much more strung out than at the end of the 990cc era in 2006.

But Burgess said the single tyre rule would still see the like of Rossi and Casey Stoner dominating at the front.

“I can see certain riders believing because they are not performing well they want to change to suit them, but it doesn’t mean they are going to win. Everybody has got the same chances now and the good guys are still winning.

“Carmelo is just worried about the show on TV. But if anybody has mucked up the racing it is Casey and Valentino because they clear off by so much. A few years ago Valentino was ahead of rivals but he managed the race and made it look like a race.

Carmelo got used to that but he forgets that Mick Doohan used to clear off by a country mile. The show has got so big with Valentino that they can’t accept any backward step, which happens in all sports.

“I understand the panicking of that but you don’t jack with the rules of tennis when Roger Federer wins all the games.”

Burgess reckons that MotoGP needs a stable period with its rules now, and has urged bosses not to make any more changes.

It has been rumoured for a while that Dorna has been considering a reduction in electronics, or introducing a controlled ECU like in Formula One.

But Burgess said: “It is not about the electronics otherwise Marco Melandri would be as quick as Casey. Electronics are what its all about for the future. The whole world is electronic now. My fridge is electronic and we have had electronic ignition since 1969.

“What I believe is that we are getting very close to where we want to be and once we reach a certain level the platform will be very even. I defy anybody to tell the difference between a 500GP bike in 1992 and a 500GP bike in 2002. They didn’t change. If we leave the rules alone we will all end up at the same point.

“Another change means somebody is going to get a handle on it first and there will be the same disparity for another two years. Electronics are very cheap, because you can make changes with your guy who writes a little program and makes it better. Software is cheap as chips.

“We are closer than we were last year and Honda will be better next year. If we leave it alone Carmelo won’t have any worries in another year.”