Michelin critical of FIA decision

The companies were the only two suppliers who applied for the tender, with Michelin using the BFGoodrich tyre brand for their rallying programme, and the FIA's World Motor Sport Council announced on Tuesday that Italian manufacturer Pirelli had been chosen.

Pirelli is not officially competing in 2007, while BFGoodrich currently supplies all the works teams.

Michelin's motorsport director Frederic Henry-Biabaud was critical of the FIA's decision, claiming the governing body had chosen Pirelli based on reasons unrelated to the sport.

"We demonstrated during the 2006 championship that the BFGoodrich tyres were the best," said Frederic Henry-Biabaud in a statement. "Two world champion titles crowned these successes.

"In 2007, not a single competitor in the tyre industry wished to officially oppose the BFGoodrich brand.

"The financial and technical efforts we deployed for the past two seasons have therefore not been acknowledged, which is all the more regrettable since we know that today's and tomorrow's WRC car manufacturers unanimously supported our proposal.

"The BFGoodrich brand was therefore eliminated on the basis of criteria unknown to us but obviously unrelated to sports. For the time being, we take note of this decision."