New tyre structure for Rossi in China

The Italian fell down the order last time out at Istanbul with tyre problems, and this weekend in China his rear tyre will have a harder carcass.

Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin's director of motorcycle racing said: "Following the Turkey test, with the information from the race and Rossi's problem, we changed the specification of some tyres that were already being made."

Rossi had already expressed his concerns about the tyre earlier in the weekend in Turkey, although Michelin were unable to pinpoint a specific problem as none of their riders completed any long runs during practice.

"Valentino had already said that the construction was a little soft for his liking even before the race," Weber added. "I hope it is our last nightmare."

Although the problem was not clearly visible externally, Michelin found that the plies in Rossi's tyre had bulged out at speed and not returned to their original shape during the race at Istanbul.

Michelin continue to test their tyres at Clemont Ferrand track as they are not allowed to test with a MotoGP bike at a Grand Prix circuit outside official IRTA test before the race takes place.

Wet weather tyres have not been tested extensively so far this season, but rain is predicted for Saturday in China this weekend.