Michelin, now Bridgestone want tire competition

Occupying almost as many column inches this weekend as Casey Stoner’s maiden MotoGP World Championship triumph, the announcement on Saturday of a proposal having been submitted for a single-tire MotoGP class set tongues wagging in the Motegi paddock and beyond.

Whilst nothing has been decided upon yet, and will not be until the weekend of the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix next month, the possibility of a change in tire regulations has provoked much comment, including from Bridgestone’s Hiroshi Yamada.

Eager to continue with the current set-up, brought in at the start of Bridgestone’s triumphant 2007 season, Yamada has his doubts about a potential switch. Speaking to motogp.com in Japan, he gave his thoughts on the idea of a control tire.

“At moment we know about the proposal, but of course it hasn’t been decided upon," said Yamada. “We would like to continue with the current situation which is competition. This allows us to improve our technical development of tires. If we have a one-brand race then this changes. We don’t like the idea of this happening."

In the event of a single-tire rule being adopted next season, Bridgestone would certainly be amongst the frontrunners as the sole supplier after their recent successes. The chance to supply every rider on the grid is something that Yamada does not rule out.

“At the moment anything is possible, but as honestly speaking we didn’t expect this situation we would have to wait for the verdict and then discuss it internally."