MotoGP: Bridgestone talks about the torrid Malaysian weekend

Q & A with Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tire Development Department.

In Malaysia Bridgestone has supplied a new front compound. What are the advantages of this type of tire compared to the previous one and what was the feedback from the riders?

“The old front tire was praised for its braking stability and durability, but the general feedback was that it lacked some cornering performance. The goal of this new type of tire was to keep the positive points altered and increase its cornering potential. To do this we developed a new compound that the riders had tested in the Montmeló post-race tests.

Even there, as in Sepang, very high temperatures are recorded, there are long corners and hard braking and therefore it was the perfect place to test this new compound. We had positive feedback from the riders and then we decided to accelerate its production to bring it to Sepang. Judging by the results we can say that we will continue to provide it.”

Heat in Sepang is nothing new, but this year has been particularly hot and humid. Has this caused any problems regarding tire performance or durability?

“This year it has been very hot in Sepang and in such conditions the track surface can become very greasy and therefore grip levels are reduced. However, we were confident that our tire allocation could deliver very good performance, regardless of the conditions. Usually in the winter tests we lap faster than in the races and instead this year for the first time we saw the lap times of the tests repeated during the race weekend and in the end despite the record heat they were set the new record in qualifying and also in the race, despite track temperatures that reached almost 60°C.”

Even though the conditions were very hot for the race, none of the official riders selected the harder rear compound. Can you explain why all the official riders chose the medium?

“In the winter testing at Sepang in the first part of the year, many riders were able to achieve good results using the hard compound, but in the race there was less grip, particularly this year with extreme temperatures. When grip is lacking, riders must compensate by choosing the tire with the best level of grip and this year it was the average. It was important for the teams and drivers to know that the medium compound would last throughout the race providing consistent performance.”

Photos: Alex Farinelli