Czech GP: Michelin qualifying report

Michelin riders had a difficult afternoon at Brno today, Frenchman Randy de Puniet (Honda LCR RC212V-Michelin) the brand's top-placed rider, qualifying a fraction of a second off the second row of the grid.

This afternoon's qualifying session got underway on a wet track, conditions deteriorating further as the rainfall got heavier. Most riders set their fastest lap times in the earlier stages, when there was less water on the track.

"Today's qualifying results were well below our expectations, said Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin's director of motorcycle racing. "We are having some problems with our rain tyres here, and in the dry yesterday our front tyre performance wasn't good enough for our riders. We face a difficult situation, also considering our results at recent races. Now we must have some deep discussions with our partners in order to understand our p roblems, so that we can do everything in our power to create the best tyre options for the next races."

-credit: michelin