Stoner fastest on soft front and hard rear Bridgestone slicks
Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner went fastest in the opening free practice in Valencia after changing to the harder rear Bridgestone slick in the closing stages of the session. Stoner, like most other riders, used the softer front tyre throughout the session. He was the only rider to lap under the 1m 33second barrier.
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Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo was second on the softer front and rear slicks and Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was third using the harder rear, and the two Spaniards were separated by 0.04seconds. After winning the World Champion title in Malaysia, Valentino Rossi also favoured the softer tyres to record the fourth fastest time.
With the date of the race falling later in the year than last season, conditions during the session were cooler, meaning that most riders favoured the softer options for their improved warm-up performance and grip at lower temperatures.
Tohru Ubukata, Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department, said:
“For the duration of the session both Jorge and Valentino completed race distance on just one set of our softer option front and rear tyres, and their best laps came just two from the end, so this shows that the softer options have a good mix of durability and performance.
“On their last runs out of the pits Casey and Dani used the harder rear tyre to record their best times, and Casey went fastest on his penultimate lap, showing that both of the compounds we have brought here to Valencia are suitable. Colin and Andrea also tried the harder front and rear slicks during the session.
“The temperature this afternoon was cooler than it was last year and the track condition was not so good this time as it was dusty, so I think that this is why the laptimes are slightly slower, but it’s good to see that even in these conditions both tyre specifications are working well. Based on the closeness of times of certain groups of riders today and the nature of the circuit, I think we will see some good tit-for-tat battles on Sunday. The times are verging on the lap record already after only the first session, and especially as the track clears throughout the weekend, there is every chance we could see another lap record set on our tyres this season.”
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium. Rear: Medium, Hard (asymmetric).