http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_media en information@bridgestone.co.nz Copyright 2010 2010-08-31T02:20:48+12:00 http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/motogp_heads_to_the_italian_riviera http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/motogp_heads_to_the_italian_riviera#When:02:20:48Z The weekend after the Indianapolis Grand Prix, MotoGP action continues in San Marino at the Misano World Circuit which presents Bridgestone with a totally different type of challenge than was faced in North America.         San Marino is a much smoother circuit with a lower level of grip, which means that the medium and hard compound slicks have been selected front and rear. The circuit’s layout also places equal loads on both shoulders of the tyres, so asymmetric rear slicks are not necessary. It is only the fifth race of the season to which Bridgestone have not brought asymmetric tyres because the circuit has not demanded them.     Although there has not been a wet race so far this season, Bridgestone are prepared with hard compound wet tyres as even though the circuit’s surface is smooth, the ambient temperature in the region is generally high and the hard compound wets offer better durability in these conditions.     The nature of the circuit is twisty and riders spend a lot of time on the brakes, meaning that braking stability from the front tyre is crucial. Edge grip is also important especially when exiting turns six, ten and sixteen, all of which lead onto sections of straight.     The right-handed kinks of turns eleven and twelve are high-speed and require excellent tyre stability. Riders must have confidence in their bike and tyre package to commit to these turns else a great proportion of time can be lost through them.     After a time away, MotoGP returned to Misano in 2007, but the circuit layout was changed slightly at turn three in 2008, increasing the track’s length to 4.226km. Bridgestone has a great track record in Misano since the circuit’s return to the calendar in 2007. Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner took pole and won in 2007 on Bridgestone tyres, and in 2008 and again last year Valentino Rossi set a new lap record on his way to victory.       Hiroshi Yamada, Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department said: “Misano has been a successful event for us since it was included on the MotoGP calendar again, right from 2007 when the top five riders were all on Bridgestone tyres. In both years of tyre competition there the race was won by a Bridgestone-shod rider, and last year Valentino set a new lap record on our tyres so I am confident that we can play our part again this year in a good race. The many braking points tend to bunch the field and provide close racing, with plenty of opportunities for overtaking. We saw a fantastic race in Indianapolis and there is still much to play for in the championship so I am excited about returning to Europe once more.”     Tohru Ubukata, Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department said: “The track surface at Misano is smooth and offers relatively low grip, but the ambient temperature is generally high for the grand prix. The climate condition requires harder compounds, but track surface requires softer compounds so we must achieve a balance in our tyre selection.     “The layout is basically twisty, but there are some high-speed corners which require very good stability to give the riders confidence to attack. Overall the circuit is not so demanding for our tyres, but braking stability is important because of the many heavy braking points. Tyre wear and temperature is equal in both shoulders so it is not necessary to bring asymmetric tyres so Misano, even though there are more right hand corners than lefts.”     MotoGP 2010-08-31T02:20:48+12:00 http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/maldonado_and_perez_take_wins_in_belgium http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/maldonado_and_perez_take_wins_in_belgium#When:02:24:03Z Pastor Maldonado (Rapax) and Sergio Perez (Barwa Addax Team) both claimed victories at Spa Francorchamps on Bridgestone’s medium compound dry tyre. Maldonado took his sixth consecutive feature race win.       With rain throughout the Friday practice and qualifying sessions, Bridgestone’s wet specification GP2 tyre was used by all the teams and performed as expected under the varying conditions.   Saturday’s 25 lap feature race included interesting pit stops from the Scuderia Coloni and Rapax teams. Maldonado’s well timed pit stop allowed him to leave the pit lane ahead of race leader and pole sitter Jerome d’Ambrosio (DAMS) who also pitted on lap eight, to change rear tyres. Despite d’Ambrosio then taking the position back from the Venezuelan, mechanical problems caused the Belgian driver to retire. Alvaro Parente (Scuderia Coloni), making a return to GP2, pitted on lap 22, finishing a close second to Maldonado despite having started sixteenth on the grid. Romain Grosjean (DAMS) finished third and Parente was awarded the point for fastest lap.   In Sunday’s 18 lap sprint race, Mexican driver Perez overtook Rodolfo Gonzalez (Arden International) on the opening lap, retaining his lead throughout. Giedo van der Garde (Barwa Addax Team) crossed the line in second place, with Parente completing the podium line-up. Perez set the quickest lap.   Maldonado leads the drivers’ championship with 87 points. Perez is in second place on 60 and Dani Clos (Racing Engineering) is third on 43 points. Rapax is ahead in the teams’ championship with 107 points, followed by Barwa Addax Team on 87 and ART Grand Prix in third with 65.   The penultimate round of the 2010 GP2 Series will be held in Monza on 10-12 September, where Bridgestone will be providing teams with the hard compound GP2 racing slick tyres.   Quote from Hirohide Hamashima - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development “Saturday’s GP2 feature race was very entertaining. There was an effective pit stop strategy from Scuderia Coloni’s Alvaro Parente, as they pitted later in the race, and an excellent pit stop from Rapax which enabled Pastor Maldonado to exit the pits ahead of previous race leader Jerome d’Ambrosio. With d’Ambrosio then having overtaken Maldonado on-track, it was unfortunate that d’Ambrosio was forced to retire especially as he is the local Belgian driver. We have seen good overtaking this weekend in both races. The podium finishers in the sprint race all fought for their positions and managed their tyres well. We are pleased with the performance of both the slick and wet GP2 tyres here at Spa.” GP2 2010-08-29T02:24:03+12:00 http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/pedrosa_shines_in_scorching_indianapolis http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/pedrosa_shines_in_scorching_indianapolis#When:02:18:10Z Starting from fifth position, Dani Pedrosa stormed to a decisive victory at the Indianapolis Grand Prix today to record his third win of the season. The Repsol Honda rider was one of only four riders to opt for the harder option rear Bridgestone slick, and made best use of it to take the lead on lap seven and later record the fastest lap of the race.         The conditions for the race were incredibly tough as the track temperature soared to a weekend-high of 55 degrees Celsius and the track surface became increasingly greasy. Every rider chose to use the harder option front tyre for its extra durability and stability under braking but rear tyre choices were mixed with many riders choosing the softer option despite the heat for the extra grip it offered.     Having led the field away from the line, Ben Spies finished in second place to mark his career best MotoGP finish. In contrast to Pedrosa, the Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider used a softer option rear slick tyre which proved remarkably consistent over the 28 laps. Jorge Lorenzo also used a softer option rear slick to good effect to finish third, and further demonstrated its durability by setting his personal best on lap 23.     Hiroshi Yamada, Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department said: “I’d like to congratulate the riders for riding in what were incredibly hot and tough conditions today. Dani rode very well to take his fifth career win on Bridgestone tyres, and Ben also showed his strength with his best weekend in MotoGP to date with pole position and second place today. It is especially fitting for him that this came in America, at a circuit as historic as Indianapolis.”     Tohru Ubukata, Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department said: “The race conditions were very tough and the track didn’t provide the level of grip we expected because the temperature was so high; in fact the track was 20 degrees Celsius hotter today than it was during last year’s race here. The race provided a direct comparison between the performance of both rear tyre compound options as tyre choice was mixed based on bike characteristics and rider preference. For example, the harder rear tyre was clearly well suited to Dani and the Repsol Honda bike, whilst Ben’s and Jorge’s packages worked better on the softer option. The consistency of both rear tyre options was impressive though and overall I am happy with our tyre performance.”     Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team Race Winner said: “This was the most difficult race for everyone. The conditions were very hard because of the heat and the asphalt was very greasy. Spies was very strong but I had a good rhythm and I could make up the gap and was able to escape. I had a fast bike on the straight and I had a good feeling in the corners. In the race I didn’t use the softer compound rear because my bike generates too much tyre temperature so after a few laps I start to lose stability into the corners, so I chose the harder one. It was hard to concentrate at the end and I am very tired but happy.”     MotoGP 2010-08-29T02:18:10+12:00 http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/hamilton_wins_2010_belgian_grand_prix http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/hamilton_wins_2010_belgian_grand_prix#When:02:10:01Z Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling mixed weather Belgian Grand Prix by using a soft – hard – intermediate tyre strategy at Spa.       Two safety car periods occurred during the course of the 44 lap race in the Belgian Ardennes forests with numerous incidents taking place throughout the field. Hamilton won after making a great start and surviving a gravel excursion whilst on dry tyres on an increasingly wet track. Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber finished second and Renault F1 Team’s Robert Kubica finished third.   Fans braved wet weather in Spa Francorchamps “Once more Spa Francorchamps has provided us with typically difficult weather conditions which gave us a very exciting race. We saw many spectators brave the wet conditions all weekend and they were rewarded with fantastic action. Bridgestone’s brand awareness in Europe has been expanded enormously by our participation in Formula 1 over the past 14 years. This was the home Grand Prix for Bridgestone Europe, who are based in Brussels, so we thank them for hosting Bridgestone Motorsport for a final time here in Spa.” Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport   Long lap at Spa makes tyre choice difficult “The Spa weather gave us a very difficult situation, even for our last visit here. This was a very tough day for those on track and those on the pit wall. Spa has such a long lap that you cannot be on the correct tyre for an entire lap as the conditions can vary from very wet to damp to dry over the undulating 7 km of this fabulous track . Judging the level of grip, even when you are not on the correct tyre, is a very important aspect of the art of driving a racing car, so it was a pleasure to watch this art in practice. Even the very best drivers in the world can make mistakes in conditions like we had today, and those who were able to minimise their mistakes were able to achieve good results. Congratulations to Lewis for his win, accomplished despite a run through a gravel trap using dry tyres on a wet section of the track. Making a perfect tyre is a very difficult challenge, however the four tyres we had here today covered the range of conditions we experienced admirably and we thank our technicians in Tokyo for their fine efforts to develop such good tyres.” Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development   Formula One 2010-08-29T02:10:01+12:00 http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/spies_secures_first_motogp_pole_position_at_indy http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/spies_secures_first_motogp_pole_position_at_indy#When:02:16:15Z Ben Spies scored his career first MotoGP pole, and his first on Bridgestone tyres, with a stunning lap in the closing stages of the hour-long qualifying session for the Indianapolis Grand Prix. The American Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider topped the order by 0.2seconds, the only rider to lap under the existing Indy lap record, using Bridgestone’s harder front and softer asymmetric rear slick tyres.         Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo will start second for Fiat Yamaha, just 0.01seconds ahead of the second American on the front row, Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden who also recorded his best qualifying performance of the season and indeed his best qualifying result since moving to Bridgestone tyres at the start of the 2009 season.     Every rider set his fastest qualifying lap using the harder front and softer rear slick tyres, but today all riders continued to assess both tyre compound options in order to make their choice for the race tomorrow.     The track temperature reached a scorching 52 degrees Celsius today, and the forecast for tomorrow is hotter still. The softer option rear tyres delivered the fastest times in qualifying because of the additional grip they offer, but with the high track temperature the harder option rears will offer better consistency over race distance, so many riders are still undecided and will use tomorrow’s warm-up session to confirm their race choice.       Tohru Ubukata, Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department said: “Firstly I want to congratulate Ben and the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team for his first MotoGP pole position in only his rookie season, and also to Nicky and Ducati for his best qualifying performance on Bridgestone tyres. The softer rear tyre provided a grip advantage over the harder option during the qualifying session, even with such a high track temperature, but the harder rear will certainly have more consistency over race distance tomorrow.     “Conditions will be tough for riders and tyres in the race, but I think that the primary choice will be the softer option rear because of the grip advantage it provides and the extra confidence the riders have in this, even if race distance consistency is not as good as the harder option rear slick. I think there will be a mix between those riders who want the extra grip and those who choose to have better consistency over the 28 laps, so the race could provide an interesting comparison of the performance of both rear tyre compound options.”     MotoGP 2010-08-28T02:16:15+12:00 http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/webber_takes_belgian_gp_pole_position http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/webber_takes_belgian_gp_pole_position#When:02:07:24Z Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber powered to his fifth pole of the season using Bridgestone’s soft Potenza tyre in mixed conditions at Spa.       Webber set his 1m 45.778secs lap time shortly before rain started to fall during the Q3 qualifying session. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton set the second fastest time, late in the session despite rainfall on sections of the track. Webber was also fastest in the morning using the hard tyre. The full complement of Bridgestone’s tyres were used today, with the wet and intermediate as well as the hard and soft dry slick tyres all seeing use once more.   What was significant about today’s running in Spa Francorchamps? “Today was all about timing. The challenge for teams and drivers was ensuring they were on the right tyre at the right time. Mark timed his pole lap to perfection, but Lewis drove exceptionally well to set the second fastest lap despite the rain falling once more. Again, it was a difficult day for everyone with numerous rain showers. We saw use of our full range of tyres here today. The qualifying sessions were particularly difficult, leaving us with an interesting grid for tomorrow’s race.” Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development   What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow’s Belgian GP? “The first consideration is the weather. If there is any rain tomorrow, teams will have to evaluate the usable wet and intermediate tyres they have left from their allocations for the weekend and decide which will be best for the conditions. If there are many rain showers in the race it will be difficult in terms of tyre management because a drying track wears the wet and intermediate tyres very quickly. If the track is damp, a set of previously used intermediate tyres could be the best solution for the conditions. With such a long lap here, it is very difficult for everyone to make the correct choice, and the penalty for being on the wrong tyre is amplified by the length of the lap. If it is dry tomorrow, there will be the interest of which dry compound performs best. As we have had so little dry running so far there is little performance data so teams will have to be very reactive in their strategies. I will be very surprised if we have a dull race tomorrow.” Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development       Formula One 2010-08-28T02:07:24+12:00 http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/stoner_leads_the_way_in_opening_indy_practice http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/stoner_leads_the_way_in_opening_indy_practice#When:02:13:02Z Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner leads the way in Indianapolis after the first practice session of the weekend, setting the fastest lap by a margin of 0.2seconds. During the session tyre compound choices were mixed as Stoner favoured the softer option rear whilst Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo used the harder option to record the second fastest time.         Almost all riders assessed both front tyre compounds during the session, and half the field tried both rear specs in preparation for their race choice. The harder front is preferable in the hot conditions this weekend because the stiffer compound performs more consistently and provides better stability at a high temperature, but rider opinion is divided on rear tyre choices with four riders in the top eight using the softer and four using the harder compound option.     Assessment of rear tyre choice for the race will be the focus of teams and riders tomorrow during the second practice session and into qualifying.     As the track temperature rose to a scorching 50 degrees Celsius, today was the hottest session for motorcycling’s premier class at Indianapolis since the series first visited the venue in 2008. Track conditions were good, although the bumpy nature of the circuit caused some issues.       Tohru Ubukata, Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department said: “Conditions today were much hotter than ever for MotoGP at Indianapolis, and in this heat the harder option front and rear slicks provide better stability and consistency. We can see that the softer rear is working well because Casey was fastest using it, but we must check its consistency over race distance in these conditions. This will be the main focus for teams tomorrow during practice and qualifying. The bumps here affect tyre stability, particularly in the front, but generally I am happy with tyre performance and I’m keen to see whether our softer rear tyre will have sufficient consistency for race distance.”   MotoGP 2010-08-27T02:13:02+12:00 http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/alonso_quickest_in_belgian_friday_practice http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/alonso_quickest_in_belgian_friday_practice#When:02:04:00Z Bridgestone’s soft tyre took Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro’s Fernando Alonso to the fastest time of the day amidst typically mixed weather conditions at the Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.       Alonso set his 1m 49.032secs time on a largely dry track right at the end of the afternoon session, which was interrupted by a red flag period. Alonso was also fastest in the morning’s wet conditions, using Bridgestone’s wet tyre to set his time. The full weather range of Bridgestone Potenzas were used today, with the wet and intermediate as well as hard and soft dry slick tyres all seeing track action.   What was significant about today’s running at Spa Francorchamp? “Today we were able to evaluate our full range of tyres that we have here in Spa, so this gives us and the teams useful data when looking to the rest of the weekend. Over the years we have seen a lot of rain here at Spa, but today it has been very wet indeed. Despite this, we were still able to have some dry running between the showers. The teams will be able to determine the crossover point for when is best to change from the wet to the intermediate or to the dry tyres and this could prove vital if we have a wet qualifying session tomorrow, or wet race on Sunday.” Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development   How do you expect this allocation to work over the Belgian GP weekend? “When we have variable weather conditions, the challenge is being on the right tyre at the right time. This challenge is made even more difficult when you have a long lap like here in Spa. As we saw today, one part of the track can be nearly dry, whilst another very wet. A wet tyre wears very quickly when used on a dry track and a dry tyre is not very good when the track is very wet, so the drivers and teams have a lot of work to do in these conditions.” Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development Formula One 2010-08-27T02:04:00+12:00 http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/motogp_returns_to_the_brickyard http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/motogp_returns_to_the_brickyard#When:23:03:16Z The Brickyard plays host to the second American grand prix of the season as MotoGP travels to Indianapolis, five weeks after the last North American visit to Laguna Seca.         The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a relatively new venue for motorcycling’s premier class, with the inaugural event being held in only 2008, but it was a motorcycle race that provided the circuit’s first competition proper back in 1909.     Since then much has changed, and again this year Bridgestone will provide tyres to machines that will reach over 200mph around the 2.6 mile course. Indianapolis is one of the circuit’s at which Bridgestone has the largest breadth of tyre information having been involved in MotoGP, Formula One and IndyCar competition there over the years.     The track is formed of three distinct component parts; the famous oval, the infield road circuit built for Formula One in 1999, and the complex built specifically for MotoGP in 2007. This mix of parts presents the challenge of different surface types each with differing levels of abrasion and grip, making it tricky to attain a consistent balance and feeling throughout a lap.     Indianapolis’ asymmetric layout places much higher demands on the left shoulders of the tyres as it is run anti-clockwise, in the same direction as the circuit’s oval races.     There is a big difference in tyre temperature between each shoulder of the rear tyres, so Bridgestone’s asymmetric rear slicks aim to provide durability in the left shoulder by using the hard and extra hard compound options alongside good warm-up performance in the right shoulders by using soft compound rubber.     Indy is one of the four hardest circuits of the season for the left shoulders of the rear tyres because of the number, length and speed of the left-handers and the abrasiveness of the tarmac. It is on a par with Catalunya (although here the greater stress is on the right shoulder), Sachsenring and Phillip Island.     Hiroshi Yamada, Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department said: “Indianapolis is an historic place and one that we look forward to going back to, even if just to marvel at the scale of it! In the middle of their centennial era celebrations, I would like to say congratulations for this milestone and I’m happy that we can be involved in marking the history of such a famous circuit. America is an important market for Bridgestone therefore many people will visit Indianapolis during the GP from Bridgestone USA including some top management. We have a lot of experience at Indianapolis, even though only two years in MotoGP, because of our past Formula One activities there and especially our continuing IndyCar involvement through our Firestone brand.”     Tohru Ubukata, Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department said: “Indianapolis is quite unique in that it features three kinds of track surface during a lap, from the oval track to the Formula One section and the MotoGP complex. The characteristics of these surfaces range from grippy and abrasive to quite slippery, so the diversity of track conditions makes it difficult for riders and tyres.     “The circuit is very hard on the left side of the rear tyres, which require good performance at high temperature and high wear resistance through the high speed left corners especially around the section of oval banking. The right side by contrast needs good warm-up performance to rapidly generate tyre temperature and provide riders with a good consistent feeling through the fewer right-hand corners. The rear tyres we have selected are the inverse of those we brought to Catalunya; that is to say the same asymmetric compounds but with the harder compound on the left side.”   MotoGP 2010-08-23T23:03:16+12:00 http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/waitakere_city_council_goes_greener_with_bridgestone_ecopia http://www.bridgestone.co.nz/corporate/news_article/waitakere_city_council_goes_greener_with_bridgestone_ecopia#When:21:55:50Z Waitakere, New Zealand’s fifth-largest and first eco city has partnered with Bridgestone, further reaffirming its commitment towards the environment. Waitakere City Council (WCC) is taking big steps towards turning its vehicle fleet ‘green’.       Photo details (left to right): Bill Dyall, Bridgestone New Zealand Limited Corporate Accounts Manager; Penny Hulse, Waitakere City Council Deputy Mayor; Shaun Hoines, Waitakere City Council Fleet Manager; Ken Oyama, Bridgestone New Zealand Limited Director New Zealand Business.     In addition to ongoing fleet audits with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, the council has fitted its cars with Ecopia EP100, Bridgestone’s fuel-saving, carbon-reducing tyres.   The partnership between the council and Bridgestone has consolidated the council’s effective vehicle management protocols with early results highlighting a stabilisation in fuel consumption. This has been attributed to an elimination of the vehicles’ fuel ‘peaks and troughs’.   The council has many examples of the benefits of having fitted Ecopia but one particularly successful case is that of a late model, 2.0ltr hatch which, before being fitted with Ecopia EP100 had an average fuel consumption of 11.28 L/100km. It is now averaging 9.6 L/100km.   "It is really fantastic to be working for a council which has a determination to be environmentally aware in all aspects of its business,” says fleet manager Shaun Hoines.   Waitakere City Council is also a strong advocate of nitrogen tyre inflation and has used this technique in conjunction with the Ecopia EP100 tyres. The benefits of nitrogen tyre inflation are simple. Tyres don’t leak as quickly. This stability ensures they stay at the correct pressure for longer, which in turn further reduces running costs.   As an added bonus Bridgestone checks the nitrogen inflated Ecopia EP100 tyres for the council twice a year so drivers don’t need to worry about over or under inflating the tyres.   “What this all means for people managing large fleets of cars is huge,” adds Shaun.  “Not only do we reap the benefits of ground-breaking tyre technology in a financial and administrative sense, we are doing our part to make motoring as green as possible.”   Ken Oyama, Director New Zealand Business at Bridgestone New Zealand Limited says; “At Bridgestone, our mission is to provide a safe environment for all our children and the children of future generations. That’s why we believe in doing everything we can to minimise our impact on the environment.”   “Through that commitment, we have created a product that reduces a vehicle’s impact on the environment without compromising on Bridgestone’s reputation for quality and safety,” he adds.   For more information and to see Bridgestone Ecopia in action, please click here. Environment 2010-08-23T21:55:50+12:00