Estoril MotoGP: Michelin hope for rules victory

Michelin boss Jean-Philippe Weber is confident the French company will at least triumph in a battle with rivals Bridgestone off the track in this weekend’s Estoril MotoGP.

Hammered by Bridgestone on the track in 2007 with the Japanese manufacturer winning nine out of 13 races, Michelin have proposed an increase in the current tyre allocation from 31 to 40 tyres next season.

The final number is still to be decided, with Bridgestone not surprisingly opposed to any changes to the current format, and Michelin, Bridgestone and Dunlop bosses will hold further talks in Portugal this weekend.

The tyre companies have at least agreed to lift tight restrictions on testing, with teams now allowed to test on tracks they’ve already raced on, at new tracks like Indianapolis, or on tracks that have been re-surfaced.

Despite Bridgestone’s confidence that the tyre allocation will remain at 31 Jean-Philippe Weber told MCN: “That’s not clarified at 100 per cent. We are still speaking about several things.  I think we have to increase the number of tyres.

“We don’t think we will have to go to 10 more fronts and 10 more rears. We still want to be reasonable, it’s just to give a little bit more flexibility to our teams. I don’t think the numbers will completely change things in terms of performance.”

The tyre companies are reacting pressure from Dorna chief Carmelo Ezpeleta, who is worried the new tyre rule is harming MotoGP as a spectacle.

He recently said if the tyre companies couldn’t reach a speedy conclusion that he would decide on a new set of rules for them.

Jean-Philippe Weber added: “His message was clear. He is thinking about the show. 

He says ok, ‘I have the manufacturers, I have the riders and I also want an exciting show.’ He agrees that everybody is talking more about the tyres than anything else and maybe that the current tyre rule is not the best.

“Whatever happens we as tyre manufacturers have one responsibility to bring back the show while keeping competition between us.”

The request to increase the tyre allocation has seen Michelin and riders like Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa accused of sour grapes because of Bridgestone, and in particular Casey Stoner’s, domination in 2007.

Bridgestone claim any rule changes would effectively be punishment for their success, but Jean-Philippe Weber said: “We were unfairly punished for being successful before. The concession we made by not making the tyres over the weekend, nobody is talking about that anymore.

“I know before there were some different discussions but today nobody cares about the way we were working before.  I don’t think it’s a punishment for them.

“On one hand we are just talking about a few more tyres and I don’t think that will completly change the ranking. I think that the tyre makers know what they have to do and they know what they have to develop. A few more tyres won’t change the world.

“When we go back testing on tracks already raced on, Bridgestone or Michelin riders will complain because it is helping them to have the best tyres.

“That would be available for both, so it will help both parties. This is why I’m confident because it’s not a drastic change. If we asked to fly in some new tyres overnight again then I would understand.

“We agreed to stop the flexibility of our facility, we decreased the number of tyres and I think the concessions we made were quite important.

“On the other hand if what we would ask to change in the regulations would be drastically different then I would understand. Our proposals are just away to ensure that the tyre manufacturers remain.

“The Sachsenring was ridiculous when Dani ran away and Laguna Seca was the same, so if each time or next year you go to any race and its Michelin or Bridgestone dominating and once again you talk about the tyres it becomes the same story and nobody wants this.

“If you want competition between the tyre manufacturers we have to level a little bit the differences.”