Sunday pm – Rossi Justifies Bridgestone Move in Amazing Open-Air Conference

In a bizarre open-air press conference after his retirement at Valencia, Valentino Rossi justified his switch from Michelin to Bridgestone for 2008, and again criticised Yamaha for the lack of power this season in their YZR-M1 machine.

Standing between two Fiat-Yamaha trucks at the back of the pitboxes on the Ricardo Tormo circuit, Rossi said that Dani Pedrosa's dominant win on Michelins in the final MotoGP race of the season had not affected his opinion about his switch to the Japanese rubber.

"Tyres are about a matter of feeling and trust," he said. "And I have lost trust in Michelin over the last two years."

The 28-year-old Italian said that the tyre move was a challenge, but not as big a risk as when he jumped from Honda to Yamaha at the end of 2003 - and succeeded in winning back-to-back championships.

"I don't think I can win with Michelin," he said. "I think Michelin will be a lot better next year, and they will have a bigger budget, but it's not my problem. With Michelin you tell them what the problem is, but you can never get a good answer. With Yamaha you sit down and talk and they give you an answer."

As dusk fell over the paddock, Rossi also vented his frustration at the machine failure that saw him surrender second place in the championship to Dani Pedrosa.

"I thought I could finish 11th or 14th in the race," he said. "I was fairly quick, but then when I braked for the first corner I felt something block in the engine, and the rear wheel stopped. I pulled the clutch in and released it, but the feeling was different from the tyre, so I stopped.

"I didn't expect this to happen with this engine, because it's not the new engine with the pneumatic valves [which had let him down once before]. I am very disillusioned."

Despite suffering from the three fractures in his right wrist and little finger, and a harrowing weekend, Rossi then turned to the fans who were jostling journalists in the two-metre space between the trucks and began signing autographs.

The Doctor has suffered two cruel and frustrating years, but his appetite for putting on what he calls "the show" burns undimmed, and he remains the most charismatic figure in MotoGP racing.


Sunday pm – Britain Sinks to New GP Low