Michelin Quotes

It`s fantastic to be back on the podium and I have to thank the team for their incredibly hard work to get us back into the game here. The first stint of the race wasn`t easy. I had such bad oversteer I barely had to turn into the corners! At the first stop we adjusted the front wing which made things better but we were a little too optimistic in switching to drys so we had to come in again and change back to wets. Double stinting the tyres really made all the difference for us though. I have to thank the entire team and Michelin for making this result possible. The pitstops were great and the Honda engine was faultless all weekend. We have some new developments for the next few races so I`m feeling really positive. Let`s hope we have a few more days like today before the end of the season.

The best result of the season but I feel I can do even more. I am only at 70 per cent of my condition and I hope that soon we`ll make it improve. Finally I had the opportunity to show my new Michelin cap, seeing this is my first podium with the French tyres. During the race I had some chatter problems, which didn`t allow me to remain with the fastest riders. I tried, but when I saw Rossi and Melandri fall, I preferred not to risk anything and maintain the third position.

(The tropically hot conditions that prevail at Sepang make life tough for tyres, but Michelin has always been up to the track`s demands.) Sepang is one of those special places where you get a lot more wheelspin than normal, ... The hotter it is, the more wheelspin you get, so you just try to keep the bike in line, you have to think about conserving your tyres more. The place is very heavy on the right side of the tyres, that`s the side that gets all the abuse, so Michelin takes all that into account and builds something focusing 90 per cent on of the right side of the tyre. The places that really generate heat are turns three, six and coming onto the back straight (turn 14) where the thing just wants to light up.