MotoGP – Preview Estoril – Challenging track for Bridgestone

After the last three races held outside Europe, the MotoGP World Championship returns to Europe for the seventeenth and penultimate round of the 2010 season scheduled for Sunday 31 October on the Estoril track, in Portugal. The track is one of the most demanding of the season from a technical point of view for Bridgestone tyres. The particularly varied configuration features four left-hand corners and nine right-hand corners characterized by different loads, so a well-balanced set-up is necessary to guarantee the tires a high level of performance over the course of a single lap.

The Japanese company has selected the asymmetric tire type for the rear to compensate for the difference in tire temperature between the right and left shoulder. This difference is more evident on this track because the right-hand corners are generally fast, so the tire temperature in the right shoulder is high, while the left-hand corners are predominantly slow, including the chicane, considered the slowest corner among those included in calendar, so the tire temperature on the left sidewall is much lower. The main challenge on this track is represented by the different sectors that the tire has to face: the Estoril circuit has a long and fast straight, in which a speed of over 325 km/h is reached, with demanding braking at the first corner, a succession of left and right corners, a very slow chicane and a long final corner where the tires have to negotiate high banking sectors at high speed, while the drivers try to accelerate as soon as possible to maximize speed along the home straight .

Air temperatures are expected to be quite cold, considering that the race will take place a month later than last year, and the road surface will be slippery, so the use of softer compounds will be required for the front to generate greater grip. With the reinstatement of the Friday practice session, when conditions are colder, warming up the tires is very important. After use in the Australian Grand Prix, the asymmetric rear tire with extra soft compound type will be available again to improve the heating and grip of the tire on slippery asphalt.

Hiroshi Yamada – Head of Bridgestone Motorsport: “After the long series of races held outside Europe, we return to Europe for the last consecutive ones that conclude this season and even if the Championship has already been assigned, it is still open to define the other positions. The Portuguese Grand Prix is ​​taking place later this year than in 2009, so we expect colder weather conditions. For this reason, an asymmetric tire with an extra soft compound was prepared for the rear, capable of guaranteeing greater grip in colder temperatures. This type of compound, developed following the feedback received during the season, was particularly appreciated by the riders in Australia."

Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport Development Manager: “The Estoril track is one of the most challenging on the entire calendar and is characterized by a variety of slow left-handers, fast right-handers and challenging straights that put the bike, rider and tire package to the test. The road surface varies from one bend to another and the tires are particularly stressed in the single lap after the partial resurfacing of the road surface which took place in 2006. Due to the slippery asphalt and the low temperatures it is necessary to use the softest compounds to generate grip, while Heavy braking requires a firm front tire and fast, long right-hand turns require using a harder compound in the right shoulder of the rear tire, so we need to strike a balance in selecting which tires to use. It will be important for the teams to reach the optimal tire temperature in the left-hand corners and for this reason we will use the extra soft compound that debuted in Australia in the left shoulder of the asymmetric rear tyre. I am satisfied with the positive feedback received from the riders after using this type of compound that we have developed over the course of the season, working closely with the teams to try to improve our operational range of tyres. Tire development is a very important aspect of our participation in MotoGP to further improve our road tyres."

Tire compounds available:
Front: soft, medium
Posterior: medium, hard (asymmetric)

Bridgestone MotorSport