Kropotkin, over at MotoGPMatters speculates that should Rossi switch to Bridgestone for 2008. Michelin could force him to sit out of post season testing. Effectively baning him from riding the `08 M1 until January 22nd at Sepang. This would be a small blow to Yamaha and Rossi, but thay’ve faced this problem before leading up to the 2004 season.

Should Rossi switch to Bridgestone, which still isn’t official, it will be interesting to see how the team dynamics play out. It’s not like you can just throw new tires on a MotoGP machine and expect everything to come up trumps. They’ll have to field differently spec’d parts for the bikes, which will force Lorenzo into a fit I am sure. His contract supposedly states that he gets the same bike as Rossi.

It will also split development into a three bike Michelin, one Bridgestone. How does Yamaha build parts for that? It won’t be making things cheaper, that’s for sure. Throwing out once and for the official for all of the new rules.

I speculate that the switch has just been a rumor to force Michelin to take stock and figure out something for next year. Just as I suspect that Rossi’s apparent displeasure for Yamaha Japan was nothing more than well thought out words of encouragement. MotoGP is a team effort and it’s obvious that Rossi feels he’s been left out in the cold. Whether or not that’s true is something we’ll discuss later.