Burgess: single tyre would be 'illogical'

The former champion came out in support of the proposal to introduce control tyres when it was mooted at the Grand Prix Commission meeting at Estoril, and there have been rumours that Rossi's exhortations played a part in Dorna's decision to float the idea.

He has also been critical of Michelin's performance this season and admitted at Phillip Island that he had urged Yamaha to switch his bike to Bridgestones next season.

But Burgess said he is completely opposed to any move towards a single tyre supplier, and believes the 2007 races that saw a large Bridgestone advantage will prove to be anomalous.

"Tyres have been part of racing since the beginning," Burgess told Gazzetta dello Sport. "You pick the car or the bike to race with, you choose the various components and you sort them out. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, because developing something is tough.

"But if we throw them out now, where will the tyre manufacturers be able to compete to show their tyre is the best? Competition is fundamental.

"By ticking a box we throw out Dunlop and Michelin? It's completely illogical to change the rules for one year gone bad.

"If we really want to, let's do a three-year programme: Michelin wants to compete, they certainly don't enjoy losing and it's shameful that half a season should change the history of racing."

With Yamaha team boss Davide Brivio having conceded that they might look at "alternatives" to Michelin if the commission decided to allow the tyre war to continue, Burgess stressed that his was only a personal opinion.

But he pointed out that many factors other than tyres had affected this year's results.

"I speak from a personal viewpoint, we must look at the championship results as a whole," Burgess said.

"Valentino also made some mistakes this year and we've had technical problems with the bike. And let's not forget the racing incidents Michelin riders suffered from.

"It's the usual thing: there have always been some who wanted Valentino's bike and some who wanted the works Honda.

"Bridgestone also supplies other riders and they didn't look close to (Casey) Stoner to me. If it was just a matter of tyres, they would all be there. What we've seen this year is not a tyre problem for me."