What Rossi can't win without...

Despite winning the world championship on a machine which only took just one podium finish the previous season, Valentino Rossi has confessed that there's one area of performance which not even he can compensate for...

"If you have 10km/h less than the other guys, or five less horsepower, you can still win, but if you have worse tyres you have no chance," said Rossi as he paid tribute to tyre supplier Michelin, following his latest title triumph.

"I have a very special relationship with Michelin. This has been an incredible season, with lap times getting faster and faster, and very much of this improvement comes from the tyres," added the 25-year-old superstar.

Despite determined opposition from Bridgestone, Michelin riders have occupied 41 of the 45 podium places so far this season, while Rossi's championship victory gave the French manufacturer its 13th consecutive 500cc/MotoGP world crown and its 24th premier-class success since the company entered GP racing in the early seventies.

"We already knew that Valentino is a remarkable talent, but to win the title at first attempt with a new team and a new bike is quite amazing," said Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin's competitions chief and the man who first brought the company into GPs.

"We have enjoyed this season because the extra competition from our rivals has given us a clear idea of what aspects of performance need to be improved," he added. "Tyre performance is increasingly the limiting factor in bike racing because we cannot easily increase the amount of rubber on the ground, whereas it seems that the manufacturers can increase horsepower whenever they want.

"This means we carry a lot on our shoulders, but we are up to it. We have been working hard to allow the riders to use more power more easily, and we think that our results this year show that we have been successful in that aim," concluded Dupasquier.