Poncharal pleased with Michelin fightback

Tech 3 Yamaha boss Herve Poncharal hailed an improvement in Michelin tyres at Misano, after the French fabricant had come under fire for their rubber at the previous two rounds. The Yamaha satellite team saw rookie James Toseland equal his best ever MotoGP result with sixth place and, even though Colin Edwards was unable to get involved in the top six battle, Poncharal was happy with the progression made by the tyre company.

`Thanks to Michelin, the whole weekend has been a lot better. It is a big improvement compared to the last two races,´ stated the Frenchman.

Tech 3 Yamaha are now the only team to field a two riders on Michelin rubber, following Dani Pedrosa´s switch to Bridgestone after the Misano race. More importantly, they are the highest placing satellite outfit in the team standings in fifth, just five points behind Rizla Suzuki. Citing the mental aspect of riding as a factor for motivation, Poncharal underlined the confidence boost that Toseland´s latest result would have for the team.

`Since Donington things have been quite tough for everyone. We all know that the grid is very competitive, and that morale is very important, so to equal our best result with James is very positive.

`As regards Colin, people tell me that since he renewed his deal with us at Laguna Seca the results haven´t been there. I personally don´t see the relationship between the two things. We know that we have what it takes to fight at the front, and hopefully we can get a podium with James before the end of the year,´ rounded off the Tech 3 Yamaha head.

Two podiums for Tech 3 Yamaha in 2008 have come from Edwards, who took third place in France and the Netherlands.