Saturday, May 16, 2009

Bridgestone Bring In Tyre Markings For Softer Compound

From the Grand Prix de France onwards the softer slick Bridgestone offering will be marked by the Japanese tyre suppliers with a white stripe around the sidewall.

Bridgestone have officially introduced sidewall markings to their softer compound slicks at Le Mans, after testing during the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez.

The marked sidewalls make it easier for those watching to keep track of the compound combinations that the riders use.

Hiroshi Yamada, Bridgestone’s Motorcycle Sport Unit manager stated, “We trialed tyre markings in Jerez with some different methods of tyre marking and after that weekend we decided to apply a white painted stripe to the tyre sidewalls. This will allow spectators, photographers, TV crews and anyone watching MotoGP to distinguish between the harder and softer compound Bridgestone slick options.”

“We have experience of doing this in Formula One, where Bridgestone is also the Official Tyre Supplier, and the feedback we have from that series has been very positive. Now four races into our first season as MotoGP’s Official Tyre Supplier, we have implemented a system that lets us transfer this experience to our MotoGP tyres, and I hope it will be just as well received in this paddock.”

Sources: www.motogp.com

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