With the MotoGP series headed into Round 5 on May 20 in France, Bridgestone has three victories (all by Casey Stoner and Ducati). More significantly, Bridgestone has dominated the top five positions at each round.
One advantage Michelin will have in Europe (the location of the next several rounds) is the ability to manufacture tires closer to the race weekend than Bridgestone. Michelin is located in France, while Bridgestone is located in Japan. This could be a key advantage given the new tire rules, which dramatically limit the number of tires each rider may use during a race weekend. Weather reports now dicate the tires developed for a given race weekend.
Valentino Rossi and Yamaha have some confidence that the tighter circuits in Europe will allow Yamaha to erase Ducati’s top speed advantage, and lead to race wins for Rossi. Michelin is an important part of this, of course, as Yamaha is a Michelin team.
The tire wars in MotoGP should remain interesting as the series progresses, but Michelin still appears to be playing catch-up at this point.
