Did Ducati have a falling-out with Michelin? Now that the premiere Ducati race team in the world is leaving Michelin behind for Bridgestone (the Ducati MotoGP team), the factory-backed Ducati AMA Superbike team known as Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin is switching from Michelin to Dunlop tires for 2005. A coincidence? Probably not.
It is no secret that Michelin made a special effort to help out Ducati in the United States last year. The AMA Superbike series has been dominated by Dunlop teams for over a decade. Michelin worked hard to make its tires work for Eric Bostrom and Ducati last year, without the success they had hoped for.
Bostrom won a single race, and was mostly uncompetitive in 2004. With Neil Hodgson (the 2003 World Superbike Champion and 2004 MotoGP rider) coming over to the US to team with Bostrom in 2005, you would think Ducati would stay with Michelin. After all, Hodgson won his world title on a Michelin-shod Ducati.
Is it possible the switch to Bridgestone for the factory MotoGP team caused Michelin to withdraw its support of the Ducati AMA team? Was Michelin unwilling to make the same special effort in the United States for 2005 after being abandoned by Ducati in the prestigious MotoGP series? The two are logically connected with one another.
Keep in mind, also, that Michelin and Bridgestone are bitter rivals in F1 automobile racing. Ducati, which has close ties with Ferrari, switched to Bridgestone in part because of the Ferrari/Bridgestone marriage in F1. This might be another reason Michelin would not want to work closely with the Ducati factory in the United States in 2005.
One possible benefit from a switch to Dunlop would be to Eric Bostrom. Like his brother Ben, Eric developed as a roadracer on Dunlop tires, and may be more comfortable with the way they handle, and slide, on the American tracks. In any event, it will be interesting to see how Hodgson makes the transition to Dunlops. He will have his hands full in 2005 learning new tracks on new tires.
