Bridgestone are looking forward to celebrating their 50th win in the MotoGP series this weekend at Phillip Island.
The shoulder grip and durability of the rear Bridgestone tyres will be pushed to their limits at the Australian track which is widely recognised as one of the most spectauclar on the calendar.
“We will celebrate the 50th win on Bridgestone tyres in Australia, so the grand prix will mark an important occasion in Bridgestone Corporation's motorsport heritage. We are honoured to be the Official Tyre Supplier to the MotoGP series, but we are also very proud that we have achieved this since only entering the sport in 2002.” said Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department.
“Indeed since Tamada achieved the first win on our tyres in 2004 we have come a long way in a short space of time. We are nearing the end of the season yet the fight is still on for the World Championship title, so I am looking forward to an exciting race to mark this milestone for us.” he Added.
Tohru Ubukata – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department said, “The main technical change for the Australian Grand Prix is the two new specifications of rear tyre we have developed. It is important to note that they are not new compounds but our existing hard and extra hard asymmetric compounds with a developed construction specifically to improve the heat durability of each tyre.
“These two new specifications were evaluated in the two -day post-event test after the Catalunya Grand Prix, but it was after the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring circuit that the decision was made to use them in Australia. In Germany, some riders experienced the onset of blisters on their rear tyres after the race, although performance and consistency were still good and a new lap record was set, but Phillip Island is even more severe in terms of tyre temperature.
“We have used our previous race-winning experience of Phillip Island and carefully analysed the performance of our tyres in Sachsenring and decided to utilise these new specifications. When we tested them in Catalunya with all teams the results were good, so we had already made the decision to investigate the use of special specifications in Australia. In fact, we decided this before the start of the season as we know how demanding Phillip Island is on tyres, especially rear tyres. By contrast, we have chosen the soft and medium compound front tyres as front tyre temperatures are lower and the soft and medium compounds provide better front-end stability on corner entry which is crucial with the high corner speeds.”