US preview quotes: Michelin

"Unlike the adjacent oval, the grand prix track is tackled clockwise, which makes it conventional in Formula One terms but less so from a North American perspective.

"The F1 cars run partly on the oval, albeit the 'wrong' way around, and partly on a bespoke, infield circuit - a unique blend that puts a wide variation of loads on the cars.

"We come to Indianapolis on the crest of a wave, following Michelin's 100th world championship victory last weekend, in Montreal, and are well prepared for this demanding circuit.

"Along with Silverstone and Suzuka it is one of the hardest on tyres during in the grand prix season - the banked, 'oval' section of the track is particularly abrasive.

"Our preparations for this race have been going on for some time. We have been evaluating tyres and running various computer simulations on test equipment in Clermont-Ferrand and Calspan, Buffalo, in America.

"This has enabled us to reproduce many different configurations without being restricted by time or unfavourable weather conditions.

"All members of our team have contributed to developing our 2006 Indianapolis tyres and I'd like to thank them for all their hard work.

"As always, our tyres for this race have been prepared in close collaboration with our partners and the most recent tests took place at Monza, Italy, and Le Castellet, France.

"We will have six different products at Indianapolis and all are new. We look forward to an exciting, competitive weekend."