Tyre War a Close Fought Battle

While Michelin appears confident about maintaining its apparent advantage in the MotoGP tyre war, competitor Bridgestone believes the fight is still too close to call.

With the switch from 990cc to 800cc bikes in 2007 a greater emphasis has been placed upon cornering, with the bikes’ reduced power allowing greater cornering speeds. Michelin has replaced their 16.5-inch front tyre with a 16-inch alternative that permits lighter handling, and this new tyre performed well during February’s qualifying tests in Qatar, with Honda’s Dani Pedrosa achieving the fastest times.

“Dani was quick on qualifiers and also did a very good long run, plus the Yamahas also performed well, so we are quite confident for this first race with the 800s,” commented Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing.

However, while Michelin appears to currently hold the advantage in terms of qualifying, the comparative performance of the Bridgestone and Michelin shod bikes is expected to fluctuate from race to race. And, according to Hiroshi Yamada, manager of Bridgestone’s motorcycle division, this uncertainty makes it too difficult to predict who will come out on top.

“It is tougher than ever to say who will be the competitive force in each GP,” he said. “We are confident in the work that we have done in Japan and in testing since last season, but the target is always moving. We are acutely aware that our rivals are always using their vast experience of top tier motorcycle racing in a bid to stay one competitive step ahead.”

Philippe Weber is equally cautious when talking about the ultimate outcome of the 2007 season. “I think the difference in performance between the various 800s isn’t as big as it was with the 990s, so the racing could be very close,” he admits.

The 2007 MotoGP year begins in earnest with the season’s opening race in Qatar on the weekend of March 10-11. This race will see the debut of new MotoGP tyre regulations, which will restrict the permitted number of tyres supplied to each rider to 31.