MotoGP: Bridgestone will bring asymmetric tires to Le Mans

The world championship arrives at Le Mans, a historic track, where the 24h race is also held. The motorbikes do not travel on the same track, but it is still a fascinating circuit and where it is easy to find bizarre weather. There are nine right-hand corners, compared to five left-hand ones, so the asymmetric rear tire is needed, with slightly harder rubber on the right shoulder. As regards tire allocation, the Factory (Honda and Yamaha) will have the soft and medium compounds available, while the Ducati and Open riders will have access to extra-soft and soft compounds. As regards the front, the options available are extra-soft, soft and medium. The tire chosen in the case of a wet race will instead have the soft compound, although the drivers can also decide to use the hard one.

“After four races dominated by Marquez, we are all anxiously waiting to see if any rider will be able to stop the Spaniard – he said Hiroshi Yamada, Head of Bridgestone Motorsport -The stop-and-go layout of the Le Mans circuit is very different to the fluid one at Jerez, so it will be interesting to see which drivers adapt best. The layout of the Le Mans circuit and variable weather always make it difficult to predict the winner of the French Grand Prix, with few drivers having been able to win the race from pole position. Once again Ducati and Open class riders will have access to the extra-soft rear compound and given that Le Mans is the least harsh circuit on the tyres, it could offer a good increase in performance in both qualifying and the race.”

“Le Mans is an event where we often experience cold temperatures, so ensuring good warm-up performance for the tires is very important,” he added. Shinji Aoki, Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tire Development Department – The circuit itself is relatively gentle compared to other circuits so our allocation includes softer compound tires to ensure better warm-up and more grip. The circuit has a stop-and-go nature and in general, the lateral loads placed on the tires are low. Another fundamental requirement is to have tires that guarantee maximum braking stability. The circuit has an unbalanced layout, which uses the right shoulder more, so we brought asymmetric rear slicks with harder rubber on the right shoulder. Last year the extra-soft rear compound at Le Mans was symmetrical, but this year we have developed an asymmetrical one. Unstable weather can have a significant impact on setup and tire choice and in previous years we have seen very different conditions from session to session, so it is always a challenging race for our technical team.”