Stoner wants tyre limits to stay

Riders are now limited to 14 front and 17 rear tyres per Grand Prix weekend, and must nominate their chosen compound on Thursday evening prior to practice.

Most believe that Bridgestone has benefited most from this rule as rival Michelin can no longer fly in new compounds and constructions after practice.

The French manufacturer has struggled to match Bridgestone for much of the year, and has only won four out of the 12 races held so far.

Valentino Rossi has been an outspoken critic of the tyre restrictions, and there have also been suggestions that the new limits are making the racing less exciting this season.

But Stoner believes the regulation's critics are simply looking for excuses for poor performance.

"Everybody really enjoyed the rule at the beginning of the year," he said.

"They all said it took a lot more figuring out to choose the right tyre at the start and then make the bike work the best it possibly can with the tyre you've selected. Everybody was happy with it.

"Now that some people haven't got the results they wanted, they're all just blaming the tyre rule."

When asked if he felt the Michelin runners' criticisms of the tyre rules were a case of 'sour grapes', Stoner replied: "I don't want to be opinionated, but yes.

"This is the first season they haven't really dominated in years, and I think it's fair. Everybody's seen that some days it's not been our day with Bridgestone and we've had some problems. But we've bounced back in the next races, they've worked really hard and produced a great tyre."

There have been suggestions that MotoGP should switch to a single tyre supplier rather than trying to regulate a tyre war, but Stoner thinks such a move would be contrary to the championship's ethos.

"If you're going to have one tyre manufacturer then which tyre manufacturer do you go with? There are a lot of variables in it," he said.

"This whole championship is about prototypes. It's not just about everybody going out on the same street bike, so I think the tyres should be prototypes as well."

Earlier this week Stoner's team boss Livio Suppo argued that the Australian was not getting enough credit for his dominance of the season, as many had suggested that Bridgestone's superiority was the main factor in his seven victories.

Stoner admitted that he sometimes felt his contribution was being overlooked, but acknowledged that he owed Bridgestone a lot, having worked more harmoniously with the Japanese company than he had with Michelin when riding for LCR Honda last season.

"It (the lack of credit) annoys me a little bit, but at the same time I've got a lot to thank Ducati and Bridgestone for," he said.

"The whole package is working really well for me. It's more the way Bridgestone work with me, rather than against me, and I'm able to pull the best out of the bike."