Valentino Rossi sympathises with struggling Michelin riders

Brno MotoGP winner Valentino Rossi has said he understands the frustration being felt by the likes of Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo in the wake of Michelin’s disastrous current run.

• Brno MotoGP race report

Michelin came in for a wave of fresh criticism in the Czech Republic as its tyres struggled woefully to match the performance level of rivals Bridgestone.

And factory Honda rider Pedrosa was one of the most outspoken, claiming he was ‘embarrassed and ashamed’ in a vicious attack on the French tyre brand. Best Michelin rider in Brno was Andrea Dovizioso in a distant ninth place.

Nobody understands the frustration at Michelin’s troubles better than Rossi, who was so furious in 2007 with a lack of performance that he engineered a switch to Bridgestone.

Rossi found it hard to maintain his motivation as his results suffered at the end of ’07, and he said it must be tough to be in Pedrosa and Lorenzo’s shoes.

The Italian told MCN: “It is very difficult to keep the motivation, especially for a rider like Dani that is used to fight for the victory and he kows he has the potential to fight for the victory. Also for Honda it is the same. To arrive in one track and lose one second a lap and fight for eleventh for a rider is difficult.

“To go fast and to try at the maximum is not easy. You have to be very concentrated and for sure it is impossible to have the same concentraton to fight for the eighth place.”

Rossi’s victory in the Czech Republic yesterday, coupled with Casey Stoner’s crash, has moved him 50-points clear in the world title race with just six races remaining.