Michelin to Investigate Rossi’s MotoGP Tyre

Michelin has taken the rear tyre from MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi’s Yamaha back to Clermont Ferrand for a thorough investigation into its sudden failure during the Turkish Grand Prix on April 22.

Rossi experienced difficulties throughout the race and later complained of tyre problems. “I immediately started to have problems with the rear tyre,” he stated after finishing tenth. “It did get up to temperature, but then I started sliding all over: something went wrong on the right side of the tyre and it gave us a lot of problems.” It is believed the tyre began to vibrate violently on lap 14 of the race.

Pierre Alves, Michelin’s technician in the Yamaha garage, believes the problems to be the result of how the tyre has been made and not a matter of rubber degradation. “It seems that it is inside the tyre rather than what happened in Laguna [July 2006], when it was starting to blister,” he explained.

A source from within Michelin has commented that Rossi’s recent tyre problems may have been caused by a manufacturing problem rather than anything inherently wrong with the tyre’s design.