But, in an exclusive interview with
Crash.net at Valencia, Weber said: "Riders, especially those on Michelin, have criticised the tyres rather than accept that
Casey Stoner is an excellent rider. They were saying: 'It's the tyres, the tyres, the tyres.'
"The media, the riders, the organisers - everyone was affected by the pressure and started to say that it would be better to have one sole manufacturer."
Weber said that Michelin had suffered two particularly difficult races at mid-season – Laguna Seca and Brno – and
Bridgestone one, at the Sachsenring. But he said that after
Valentino Rossi bounced back to win in Portugal on Michelins, he was shocked when Dorna produced the single-tyre idea at Motegi.
"In mid-season the paddock panicked, and everyone started talking about tyres," Weber said.
Clearly furious at the way Michelin has born the brunt of the blame for some dull races this year, Weber pointed out that the
MotoGP paddock had totally failed to take account of circumstances produced by the new 800cc bikes in 2007.
"The hierarchy of the manufacturers has completely changed," he said. "In 2006 Honda had a really competitive bike, and the Yamahas had better all-round performance than this year. Meanwhile this year the Suzukis and Kawasakis [both Bridgestone-shod] have improved."
Weber admitted that Michelin had experienced problems this year. New tyre rules have prevented them from making overnight "specials" for European races in their Clermont Ferrand factory. They had been used to producing tyres with a high level of performance over a narrow range of operating conditions, but this year they have to make more versatile tyres – a philosophy that they have now embraced totally.
What does he think of Rossi's decision to abandon Michelin for Bridgestone next year? "We have a saying in France,
On sait ce qu'on perd, mais pas ce qu'on gagne [you know what you will lose, but you don't know what you might win]. We'll see next year.
