Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner (Photo: Brian J Nelson) » More Photos

Germany, Laguna Seca and Brno: From Bad to Worse

It was in Germany that the wheels began to come off the Michelin wagon. Michelin riders took the next five places back of Bridgestone’s Stoner on pole, but it rained hard on raceday. Pedrosa, second on the grid, got the holeshot and proceeded to pull out an astounding lead in treacherous conditions. By the end of lap five the Honda rider had taken 7.4 seconds from Stoner, but only seconds after crossing the start-finish and seeing that monumental lead on his pit board, Pedrosa went way too deep before braking and crashed just beyond the point where his transponder had recorded a speed of 165 miles per hour.

That spectacular crash left Pedrosa with broken bones in his hand. The bike ending up on top of the protective barriers and the rider reaching the Airfence, which did its job at a place where run-off are is inadequate -- one of those places where "no one ever crashes."

At no time did Pedrosa ever blame the tires, but there were complaints from other riders about the grip from Michelin rain tires. On lap five, however, just before the crash, Pedrosa lapped 1.2 seconds faster than Stoner.

The hand injuries sustained by Pedrosa made it unlikely that he would ride at Laguna Seca a week later, but he showed up, tried to ride, and withdrew after Friday's second free practice when he was 15th, 1.7 seconds back of Stoner and unable to ride more than a few laps at a time.

Spanish sources close to Pedrosa believe that the deciding factor in pulling out of the event was the lack of grip from Michelin tires at a race where, as Michelin race boss Jean-Philippe Webber admits, Michelin got it wrong by failing to anticipate the unseasonably low temperatures.

The French tire company left Laguna humiliated (even more humiliated that after their 2007 California debacle) by their results and scalded by harsh criticism. Colin Edwards reportedly quipped, “Stevie Wonder could have made a better tire selection than Michelin.”

But with three weeks to prepare for the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic, the paddock waited to see whether Michelin would come back from the American debacle with competitive tires on the flowing Brno circuit.

In the Czech Republic tempers flared after Bridgestone riders owned the track, taking nine of the top ten places. Pedrosa was fifteenth, slowed by his injuries, but Dovizioso, the first Michelin rider home, was 38 seconds back of Rossi’s Bridgestone-shod Yamaha. If Stoner had not crashed out of second place during the early running, Bridgestone riders would have taken the top ten places.

Check back tomorrow for Part II, where Noyes explains how this shift in power could result in a control tire situation in MotoGP as early as 2009.