Bridgestone representatives are relaxing after another successful grand prix weekend in Turkey, where their range of Potenza tyres successfully negotiated the infamous Turn 8 at Istanbul Park.
Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, even had an overused pun up his sleeve when delivering his verdict of F1’s outing to Eastern Europe. “Today we saw a real Turkish delight in Istanbul,” said Hamashima.
“The pace at the front was exceptionally close on both compounds of Bridgestone Potenza and this provided exciting racing. Our tyres performed well on one of the toughest corners in motorsport, despite the forces they are put under by this season's ever improving aerodynamics and heavier cars.
“Our primary concern is always safety and we are proud to have provided safe tyres for this race. We also supply tyres which allow good usage by many competitors. The race's fastest lap set by Petrov's Renault on the soft compound on the penultimate lap, and the Red Bulls and McLarens were so very close all race. This will be one of Bridgestone's many Grands Prix which I will remember for a long time.”
This is Bridgestone’s last year as F1 Tyre Supplier, and it is clear that this weekend will be remembered fondly by those high up in the company. Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, agreed that Istanbul Park provided viewers with a great motor race:
“This was a very exciting race so congratulations to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Red Bull for such good performance. The Istanbul Park circuit enables fantastic racing, with difficult corners and interesting gradient.
“We have been able to prove the strong performance of our tyres in front of a world audience and I think anyone who watched the race will agree about the excitement we saw.
“Many Bridgestone guests from Turkey and even from South Africa were part of this tremendous spectacle and we are very happy for Bridgestone customers and dealers to have enjoyed this.”
