Stoner dominates on soft Bridgestone rear MotoGP tyre

It came as no surprise to see Casey Stoner complete a superlative weekend, claiming an imperious victory at Le Mans for the Repsol Honda Team, having proved faster than anyone else all weekend. In completing his victory, he set a new record total race time, beating the former record by 25 seconds. Stoner put his victory partially down to the speed with which he could increase the temperature of his tyres, while their consistency allowed him to maintain fast lap-times throughout the race. Dani Pedrosa claimed one victory over Stoner, setting the new lap record at 1:33.617 seconds, 0.6 seconds faster than the previous benchmark, but his race was ended with a broken collarbone following a collision with Marco Simoncelli.

Stoner said: “I made a terrible start but I was pretty aggressive into the first corner so didn’t lose too much. At the start Dani was being conservative with the left side of his tyres but my tyres came up to temperature faster than his so I wanted to get past and make an advantage. Once I got past him I tried to stay consistent but Dani stayed with me so I had to keep lifting the pace and every time he matched my pace. Then I took a small advantage and was able to sustain those laptimes to the end. It’s been an awesome weekend and I’m really happy with the way the bike is working.”

As the track temperature was lower under overcast skies, every rider today chose the new soft rear slick alongside the harder front tyre. On just the fourth lap of the race, Stoner dipped under the lap record and proceeded to deliver a string of consistent laps in the 1m 33second bracket to set his fastest total race time. Simoncelli also went faster than the existing lap record, though Pedrosa was the fastest man overall. Stoner led from the second lap and, after an intense battle with Pedrosa in the first half, pulled away from the field.
 
Taka Horio, general manager of Bridgestone Motorsport Department, said: “Casey rode a fantastic race today and has shown remarkable pace all weekend, so many congratulations to him and the Repsol Honda Team. It is also good for the fans and the sport to see Valentino on the podium for the first time with Ducati. I’d also like to wish Dani a fast and uncomplicated recovery from his injury today and hope that he can return to the championship soon. It is good to see a record number of MotoGP spectators for Le Mans today which is a sign of the appeal and strength of the championship, and I am pleased Bridgestone can support such an exciting series.”
 
Masao Azuma, chief field engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport: “All weekend I have been pleased with the performance and consistency of our new soft rear tyre, and in the race it again showed its strength. Outright performance was good with the top three riders under the existing lap record, and durability and consistency were also satisfying. Eighteen of Casey’s laps were faster than the existing lap record, and in addition to his new total race time record, the top four riders were all faster than last year’s winning total race time.”

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