Archive - Oct 4, 2008

As we reported earlier, Michelin has decided not to submit a bid to become the sole supplier of tires for MotoGP. The press released announcing the move read as follows:

"Michelin has decided not to submit a bid to the governing body of the MotoGP World Championship. At the same time, Michelin regrets not being able to contribute to the organizers' important discussions to improve rider safety and reduce costs.

The spirit of competition has always been central to Michelin. Motor sports at the highest level are useful because competition among several tire manufacturers is a valuable stimulus for developing increasingly high-performance tires that will one day equip customer vehicles. Tires play a key role in a vehicle's performance and can make a considerable difference. This competition among manufacturers helps to make racing exciting.

The radial tire, which was invented by Michelin, has been improved through racing, and the improvements have since been passed on to consumers. Michelin's dual compound technology for motorcycle tires was first tested in MotoGP racing and is today integrated into premium products for the brand's customers. The MotoGP Championship organizers have decided to use a single tire supplier for the coming seasons, which effectively eliminates the competitive environment that has led to so much progress.

The R&D resources allocated for MotoGP racing will be redeployed to support innovation, which is at the heart of Michelin's customer-focused strategy."

Michelin's decision leaves Bridgestone as the only bidder for the contract, and barring a revolution, certain to be awarded the contract. Indeed, it is entirely possible that the reason Michelin decided not to submit a proposal is because they knew they did not stand a chance of winning the contract anyway.

If the French tire maker had been awarded the contract, then open rebellion would have broken out among the riders currently contracted to Bridgestone, and riders such as Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa would have put pressure on Dorna to reverse the decision. Michelin may have decided to withdraw with honor, rather than go through the motions for what was essentially a sham.

After Phillip Island had been treated to a very mixed bag of weather on Friday, with balmy and dry conditions in the morning making way for a very cold and wet session in the afternoon, the paddock and fans were delighted to be greeted by much more stable conditions on Saturday. The morning free practice session, which saw Nicky Hayden nudge Casey Stoner off the top of the timesheets in the dying minutes, took place in cool but dry conditions, and the official qualifying practice started out under sunny skies, but not much warmer.

The opening minutes saw lap times drop down quickly down into the mid 1'30s, with Dani Pedrosa the first rider to crack the 1'31 barrier, and Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner taking another half a second off just a few seconds later. As is his custom, Stoner then chipped away at the times even further, perfecting his race setup to set the bar at a time of 1'30.124 after just 10 minutes of the session.

For the moment, Stoner's time was out of reach of the rest of the field, with everyone focusing on getting the bikes ready for race day. In the first 20 minutes, Stoner was clearly fastest, but he had Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden all running not far off his pace, and as the session approached halfway, that group was joined by Jorge Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso and James Toseland.

Michelin has just announced that they will not be submitting a proposal to Dorna and the FIM for the contract to supply tires as the single tire manufacturer. This means that Bridgestone will be the sole supplier of tires for MotoGP in 2009, as heavily predicted, and as favored by most of the riders. 

More details as they emerge.