Stoner wants tyre war to continue

Speaking after Dorna proposed a one tyre rule for 2008, Stoner reiterated his belief that rivalry between brands is an integral part of the category.

"It's like them running an R6 Cup, all the bikes the same, everything the same... Grands Prix are all about prototypes, and it's the competition between manufacturers that brings out the best in all these bikes," Stoner said.

"So I just think things should be the way they are, just leave them the way they are."

The Ducati rider also slammed the Michelin runners who have expressed a desire to switch to Bridgestone next year.

The Repsol Honda team said yesterday that they were keen to drop Michelin for Bridgestone at their riders' behest - only for Bridgestone to announce hours later that it had no intention of supplying HRC.

There had also been rumours earlier in the summer that Valentino Rossi and Yamaha wanted to end their relationship with Michelin.

"I think they forget what this company they are with has done for the last few years," Stoner said.

"They have a very, very short memory. Valentino won a lot of world championships with this company, they were very good to him for many years, and then all of a sudden one bad year when he's not winning and it's a disaster and 'I want to change companies', things like this...

"I think it's proven today that the Michelin tyres are working quite well, and probably now they'll change their minds again."

Stoner added that Ducati had endured some poor races with Bridgestone in past years, but had remained loyal to the company and reaped the benefits when it produced a dominant tyre this year.

"It's not like Bridgestone have always been fast, they've had to work a lot," he said.

"In the past it was only Michelin (winning) so everybody wanted to go with them, but the people who stayed with Bridgestone continued to work with them and now they get some reward."