Rossi: rule change wouldn't help Michelin

The former champion has been an outspoken critic of the regulation that limits riders to 31 tyres per Grand Prix weekend and demands that their compound choices are nominated on a Thursday evening.

But while he insists that the rule has harmed Michelin more than Bridgestone, Rossi says the French tyre company's problems are more fundamental.

"For me the problem is the quality of the tyres," he said.

"The quality of our tyres is not at the same level. I think it's not enough to have more tyres. We need better tyres, not more.

"Michelin have to fix this problem. For me three, five tyres more don't change the situation.

"This rule gave more problems to Michelin than Bridgestone, but it's not enough to change the rule. Michelin have to work to be competitive."

Rossi added that he believes there is little to choose between the two tyre companies in terms of outright performance, but that the Bridgestones get up to speed faster and have better longevity.

"The maximum, maximum performance is maybe quite close to Bridgestone," he said.

"The first problem is they have the performance from the first lap, and it is a huge difference compared to Michelin.

"We have to wait always two or three laps, and this makes a big difference in the first part of the race.

"The second difference is in the life of the tyres, because Bridgestone arrive to the end, or to four or five laps to the end, with maximum performance. We lose maximum performance after 10-12 laps.

"Maybe they have maximum performance on the last lap too, but Bridgestone are always alone for the last few laps, so it's possible they could slower but the tyre is okay.

"It's more about the first part of the race and the last part of the race, because on maximum performance maybe we are not so far behind, especially with the small improvement we made in Misano."

Michelin has only taken four victories so far this season, while Bridgestone-shod bikes have won the remaining nine races. Bridgestone runner Casey Stoner can potentially clinch the 2007 title at Estoril this weekend.