BRIDGESTONE TECHNICIANS were rewarded with a win at Le Mans after Valentino Rossi piloted their new-specification rear tyre to victory at yesterday's GP.The team have been working on a new tyre following the problems they encountered in the cool

REIGNING WORLD champion Casey Stoner believed his fall in Brno was down to a tyre problem. “The tyre I used I’d done 20 laps on in practice without trouble. But in the race, after six laps, it was knackered,” he said.“The data showed I went

COLIN EDWARDS set the pace in qualifying, and was ready to move it still higher to be sure of repeating his first-ever pole, achieved here last year, when he was forced to slow by a cruising Marco Melandri on his last lap.“We had a minor problem

to the outside of most of the corners, between the white line and the gravel.Not everybody was in favour, with Casey Stoner one who deplored the fact that riders’ mistakes could now go unpunished.“For me, all this extra run-off is … not racing,” the world

. Most riders thought that physical injuries were self-regulating. As Randy Mamola said, among several examples he cited: “When Loris Capirossi was riding a Honda 500 for Sito Pons, he crashed and broke his hand in morning warm-up at Assen, and he raced

the bike properly,” he continued. This meant the tyre companies were developing tyres to suit particular bikes. The new regime reverses this situation.Motorcycle racing tyre chief Hiroshi Yamada added: “If the setting is good, then both specification