MotoGP: Bridgestone will continue development until the end of 2015

The Jerez weekend was one of the "hottest" also for Bridgestone, with asphalt temperatures that exceeded 50° C both in qualifying and in the race. Despite this, Marc Marquez managed to beat the track record he held to Jorge Lorenzo (set in 2008), lapping in 1'38.120. In the race the Honda rider achieved his fourth consecutive success, finishing ahead of Rossi and Pedrosa. Here's what he said about it Masao Azuma, Chief Enginee Bridgestone Motorsport Tire Development Department.

It was the first time that only asymmetric rear tires were available in Jerez. How did they go and will it be possible to see them again next year?

“The decision to develop asymmetric rear slicks for Jerez was made following recent advances in compound technology, so we could have even better tires in terms of performance and grip. The main objective was to improve driver safety, but it seems that these new tires can also be exploited for better performance. Marquez demonstrated this by also beating the track record which dates back to 2008. They also held up well to the distance, in fact looking at the lap times of many riders the difference in the stopwatch from the start of the race to the end was only about half second, this shows that the tires were consistent and predictable.”

Conditions were very hot all weekend, with track temperatures reaching 55°C in Sunday's race. What effect does heat have on driver tire choice and how does it affect the overall performance of the tyre?

“It's true that often, when hot temperatures are encountered, riders are inclined to opt for harder compounds. In Jerez, however, that wasn't the case for everyone, especially the rear tyre. Most of the Factory riders (Honda, Yamaha and Ducati) chose the hardest option available, but among the Open class riders there were also those who chose the softest option. The reason for this is that Jerez is not particularly harsh on tyres, so the riders knew they could comfortably manage this option over the race distance, this despite the heat. Furthermore, the very slippery track conditions meant that the Open drivers looked for a lot of grip in corners and therefore for them the best solution was the extra-soft compound.”

Bridgestone has announced that it will withdraw from MotoGP after the 2015 season, does this mean that tire development will continue at the same pace over the next eighteen months as has happened so far?

“Yes, we will continue to develop, we want to leave the championship at the end of next season in the best possible way. It is in our interest to keep our development program going strong until the end of our time in MotoGP; in fact we can transfer this technology to tires for road motorcycles. We are currently developing new advances in technology, particularly for the front tyre, which we will supply to the teams for testing purposes in the coming months. New “state-of-the-art” technologies may be introduced over the next eighteen months.”

Bridgestone tire compounds available:

Front: Soft, Medium & Hard
Rear: extra-soft, Soft and Medium (asymmetric)
Wet tires available: Soft (Main) & Hard (alternatives):
Hard (Main), Soft (Alternative – front), Extra-hard (Alternative – rear)