Michelin denies Bridgestone advantage

Bridgestone-shod bikes have now won four of the first five races of the 2007 season, and Michelin riders have suggested that the Bridgestones currently have the edge in both dry and wet conditions.

"We riders on Michelin look for more grip at the front under braking," Valentino Rossi told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"But Bridgestone is really way ahead at the rear: it has more grip so its riders are able to get on the throttle before us. In the first five GPs Michelin has shown to be a bit behind."

However Weber believes there are other reasons why the Michelin users have not had more success.

"It's hard to draw a comparison (between Michelin and Bridgestone) because many factors influence a tyre's performance," he told Gazzetta.

"If you look at the results, you can see that the Yamaha was well balanced in Qatar and China, and the difference came mostly from Ducati's speed.

"In Turkey, (Dani) Pedrosa and (Colin) Edwards were competitive but they were involved in the first lap crash, while Rossi was slowed down by a tyre problem.

"Here the outcome of the race was influenced by the unpredictability of the weather conditions.

"All this has affected the results and produced a better start of the season by Bridgestone, who have more riders than us. This is important both for the gathering of development data, and because if a rider has a problem, they have more alternatives."

But Weber admitted that the new tyre restrictions and the switch to 800cc might have affected Michelin more than Bridgestone.

"The new regulations forced us to modify our working methods, while Bridgestone has already had the same line of work for two years," he said.

"And let's not forget the bikes have changed as well. Too many new things at once, perhaps."

He added that Michelin were working extremely hard to regain the advantage.

"Tyres for a Grand Prix are usually chosen three or four weeks ahead, but after the tests in Turkey we produced 300 tyres in five days for China," Weber said.

"After having worked so much on the front, we're trying to improve the rear. At Mugello we'll already use different material, which should improve the situation."