MotoGP Laguna Seca: Bridgestone Report

Casey Stoner (Honda Repsol) achieved a fantastic victory in the United States Grand Prix, the tenth round of the MotoGP World Championship held on the Laguna Seca track, using slick tires with a harder compound type to move up from third position to the lead of the race and achieve a decisive victory on the historic American circuit. In the initial stages of the race, the fight for first position had Jorge Lorenzo (Team Yamaha) and Dani Pedrosa (Honda Repsol) as protagonists, while the Australian rider reached the lead of the race on the 27th lap of the 32 laps of the race. At the start of the race Lorenzo took the lead after starting from pole position and Pedrosa put a lot of pressure on him until halfway through the race; at that point Stoner began to show a very consistent race pace, overtaking his teammate. Lorenzo crossed the finish line in second place ahead of Pedrosa. The first three riders to reach the finish line used the harder tire compound for both the front and rear, as did Andrea Dovizioso (Honda Repsol), fifth, and Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini), who went off the track when he was in fifth position. Despite the high track temperature which reached 46°C, three riders opted for the softer compound tire on the front and 12 of the 17 starters used the softer compound on the rear. Even with the latter compound, the consistency at the rear was good and Ben Spies (Team Yamaha) used it to overtake Dovizioso at the end and cross the finish line in fourth place.

Hiroshi Yamada – Head of Bridgestone Motorsport: “Casey put in an impressive performance to take his first victory at Laguna Seca since his world title in 2007, and I'm pleased that the popularity of MotoGP continues to grow in the United States, with record attendance for the entire weekend. Laguna Seca is the only race on the calendar where Bridgestone-shod drivers have achieved all three steps of the podium every year since 2007, even when we were not the only tire supplier, so it's a track we always associate with fond memories. I am satisfied with the performance of our tire selection and the softer compound for the rear and from the next race in Brno we will have another compound available for the remaining races of the season."

Hirohide Hamashima – Assistant Development Manager Bridgestone Motorsport: “The harder front and rear compound option was clearly the one that delivered the fastest performance and, especially in Casey's case, the consistency and race pace were impressive. The total race time was 2.7 seconds faster than the previous record and this is a good indicator of the consistency and durability of our tyres. On lap three Casey set the fastest lap with a time of 1m 21.673s and on lap 29 his pace was 1m 21.865s, further demonstrating the durability of the tires used. This weekend I am also satisfied with the performance of our slick tires with the softer compound. We brought this type of compound to improve the warming performance of the tires in the morning test sessions with colder temperatures, and at the start 12 riders opted for these compounds. Ben crossed the finish line in fourth position using the tire with softer compound, so I'm satisfied with our decision to review the choice options for the rear."

Casey Stoner – Honda Repsol – Winner: “All weekend we didn't have the race pace of Dani and Jorge but we made some changes and were more confident for the race. The bike was heavy at the beginning due to the full tank so we just had to wait and be patient, but then the feeling improved lap after lap. It's definitely one of my best races and I'm very happy."

Top ten classified and type of tires used for the front and rear:

1 Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Team 43m52.145s Dura Medium Bridgestone
2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 43m57.779s +5.634s Dura Medium Bridgestone
3 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 44m01.612s +9.467s Dura Medium Bridgestone
4 Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing 44m12.707s +20.562s Dura Soft Bridgestone
5 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 44m13.030s +20.885s Dura Medium Bridgestone
6 Valentino Rossi Ducati Team 44m22.496s +30.351s Dura Soft Bridgestone
7 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 44m23.176s +31.031s Dura Soft Bridgestone
8 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 44m37.647s +45.502s Dura Soft Bridgestone
9 Hector Barbera Mapfre Aspar Team 44m43.694s +51.549s Dura Soft Bridgestone
10 Hiroshi Aoyama San Carlo Honda Gresini 45m00.995s +68.850s Dura Soft Bridgestone

Weather conditions: dry. Temperature: air 20°C-21°C; runway 46°C

Tire compounds available:
Anterior: medium, hard
Rear (asymmetrical): soft, medium

Bridgestone MotorSport