Michelin expects tyre war to continue

An announcement on whether control tyres would be adopted in MotoGP next year had been scheduled for the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend, but has now been postponed.

Weber said he was not unduly concerned by the delay in finalising plans for 2008 as he was now hopeful that the decision would be to Michelin's satisfaction.

"The information I have is that the final answer should be given next Friday," said Weber in an interview with the official MotoGP website. "We think everything should be fixed by next week.

"Of course it takes some more time, but I also think the final decision will be good and the tyre competition will remain for the manufacturers."

Michelin had been vehemently opposed to the proposal to end the tyre war and change to a single supplier from 2008.

The suggestion had been floated by Dorna after complaints that Bridgestone's dominance in the middle of 2007 was undermining riders and manufacturers' effort, and leading to tedious racing. Michelin's return to form in subsequent rounds countered many of these criticisms.

But despite Michelin's improvement, Valentino Rossi now seems certain to switch to Bridgestone tyres for 2008, with an official announcement expected next week.

Weber said Michelin did not believe that Rossi had been a firm decision yet, but admitted that the company was aware of the rumours that it would lose the former champion to its rival.

"This is what we hear in the paddock," he said. "I think we hear quite a lot of different things, so we don't know exactly what decision will be taken. Right now we don't know more about that."