Tyres Quotes

That was a very tough race. The timing of the safety car period worked to our advantage early on and we were in good shape. We were quick in the conditions, everything was going well and the strategy was well defined. Then we just decided to go onto dry tyres too early. It was a very close decision, but we took it together and we got it wrong.

Firstly the cars aren`t too complicated. They have no traction control, for example, which means you can spin if you try too hard and damage your tyres if you`re not careful with your driving style.

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 years I raced in were fantastic. There was so much change in the cars. We went from treaded tyres to no wings right through to slicks to enormous wings.

We started out on scrubbed tyres, and I overshot it a bit on the first couple laps, expecting too much from them,

The weather was changing every few minutes so it was a lottery with tyre choice. Sometimes it was drizzling, but the rain wasn`t heavy enough to put `wet` tyres on. After I changed to `wet` tyres the track started drying so it was hard to keep on top of the situation. My team made some good calls to improve our track position. I ended up doing a double stint, and physically it wasn`t a problem. You just had to drive to the conditions. The day started out badly with the engine failure in the warm-up. The crew did a great job getting the engine changed in time for the race. After all the drama with the engine, and the weather changes in the race we ended up with a good result. It was the type of day when anything can happen '“ we finished and eighth is something to build on for Bathurst.

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.

Nicky has had a really good day, especially with the performance he showed on the race tyres. His times would have been good enough to win Sunday`s race here comfortably. Nicky also improved the setting of the machine, which will help him in the remaining six races.

(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.