MotoGP – Barcelona Preview – Bridgestone Preview

The Catalunya Circuit, which will host the seventh round of the MotoGP World Championship on Sunday 4 July, has particular technical characteristics and is considered by Bridgestone to be one of the most demanding of the season for tyres. With eight right-hand corners, most of them long and fast, and only five left-hand corners to be taken at low speed, the track places a high level of stress on the right shoulder of the rear tyre. The right shoulder, in fact, is subjected to heavy bending loads which raise the temperature of use.

On the contrary, the left shoulder is less stressed but must still have optimal performance with a lower temperature range. Considering the track configuration and the high temperatures expected over the weekend, Bridgestone will once again bring an asymmetric rear tyre, which has already been used four times this season. Last year, for the first time, the Japanese manufacturer made the asymmetric rear tire available to the teams. By combining the right shoulder of the rear tire with a hard or extra hard compound, for greater resistance to higher temperatures, with the left shoulder with a soft compound for use in slower left-hand corners, the asymmetric tire is able to guarantee a high level of grip and driving feeling throughout the entire lap. In the last edition the track temperature reached 52°C and all the riders opted to use the hard compound for the front and the extra hard compound for the rear. The grand prix was characterized by an exciting battle decided at the last corner between the two riders of the Fiat Yamaha team, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. The two teammates crossed the finish line with a gap of less than a tenth, followed by Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro), who preceded Andrea Dovizioso (Honda Repsol).

Hiroshi Yamada – Head of Bridgestone Motorsport: “Last year we saw a fantastic race on the Catalunya track and I think everyone remembers the exciting duel between Valentino and Jorge. The grand prix always attracts numerous fans to the stands with five Spanish drivers present. Spain represents an important strategic market for us and the popularity of the grand prix helps to increase awareness of our brand. The Catalunya Grand Prix is ​​the last of three consecutive races held in recent weeks, which will be followed by a well-deserved one-week break before the German Grand Prix.”

Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport Development Manager: “The Catalunya track is particularly technical with a wide range of corners. In particular, it features long right turns that increase the operating temperature on the right shoulder of the tire. The surface is linear and the stress on the external area of ​​the tire requires the use of the hard compound, especially for the rear. We will bring the asymmetric rear tire again, because having a double compound to use in the right and left corners is essential to achieve a good driving feeling and optimal performance on this track. Considering that the left shoulder is not subjected to high stress, the temperature of use is lower than that of the right shoulder, while the soft compound on the left side allows the tire to guarantee optimal grip and driving feeling. The Catalunya circuit is one of the most demanding of the season for the rear tyre, but we have seen in the past that our pace and tire performance have been good, so I am confident for this race.”

Tire compounds available:
Anterior: medium, hard
Asymmetric rear: hard (left side), extra hard (right side)

Bridgestone MotorSport