MotoGP – Preview Estoril – Bridgestone choices

The Portuguese Grand Prix, the third round of the MotoGP World Championship, is scheduled for Sunday 1 May on the Estoril track. Due to the adverse weather conditions in the last two editions held in October, the organizers have decided for this season to schedule the race for the first Sunday in May. The track is one of the most technically demanding for Bridgestone tyres. The particularly varied configuration features four left-hand bends and nine right-hand bends characterized by different loads: for this reason a well-balanced set-up is necessary to guarantee the tires a high level of performance. For the first time this season the Japanese manufacturer has selected an asymmetric tire for the rear to compensate for the difference in temperature between the right and left shoulder. This difference is evident on the Portuguese track because the right-hand corners are faster and generate a greater load, so the tire temperature in the right shoulder is higher, especially at the rear, while the left-hand corners are predominantly slow, so the temperature of the tire on the left side 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 the long final Parabolica corner, where the tires tackle steep sections at high speed, while the drivers try to accelerate as quickly as possible to maximize speed along the straight I arrive. Precisely due to the different types of corners and speeds, asymmetric tires are essential to guarantee drivers consistent grip in a single lap. A higher temperature is expected than in previous editions of the Grand Prix, but this has not resulted in Bridgestone making a different choice of compounds to use, which will in fact be the same as in 2010.

Hiroshi Yamada – Head of Bridgestone Motorsport: “Due to the postponement of the Japanese Grand Prix, four weeks have passed since the last Grand Prix held in Spain, so everyone can't wait to get back on track. The disastrous earthquake that hit Japan had no impact on the supply of tires for the MotoGP Championship, so there will be no problems in Portugal. This year the race was brought forward compared to last year but this change of date did not lead to any change in the choice of types of tires to be used. Let's just hope we have less chance of rain! I remember that last year the conditions were very difficult for all the drivers, because the race was the only dry session of the entire weekend, exactly the opposite compared to the conditions we found last time on the track Jerez. In the last three editions of the Portuguese Grand Prix Jorge has always triumphed. We'll see who wins at Estoril: in the last race in Spain there was a close fight between several riders and we expect a good race this time too. The types of tires available are the same as the last edition. Feedback from the riders had been very positive regarding the extra soft compound, so we hope to see another exciting race followed by a test session starting on Monday."

Hirohide Hamashima – 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 track configuration and road surface vary from corner to corner and the tires are particularly stressed on the single lap following the partial resurfacing in 2006. The combination of slow and fast corners, including the long and fast and the chicane very slow, requires the use of the asymmetric rear tire to balance the tire temperature in both shoulders and to guarantee consistent grip on every lap. For slippery asphalt it is necessary to use softer compounds to generate grip and good warming of the left side of the tyre, while fast and long right-hand corners require the use of a harder compound in the right shoulder of the rear tire to deal with a higher temperature. Heavy braking, especially in the first corner, requires a solid front tire. For this reason we tried to achieve a good balance in selecting the tires to use."

Bridgestone MotorSport