Bridgestone debuts 2012 MotoGP tyres

Bridgestone’s 2012 specification tyres were also debuted at the Valencia circuit at the Official MotoGP Test on 8-9 November. The test was conducted mostly with the new-era 1000cc machines including five Claiming Rule Team (CRT) bikes from BQR Inmotec, BQR FTR, TeamLaglisse and the Grellini Team. Every rider’s tyre allocation comprised only the 2012 tyres, marking the first full usage of the 2012 tyres that Bridgestone have been developing for one year. The manufacturer explained that the tyres have been developed to improve warm-up and operating range. The test was the first time that next year’s rider changes take effect and the 1000cc bikes have been on track at the same time.

Ubukata said: “This test was the first opportunity for us to give all the riders our finalised 2012 specification tyres so it was very important for us. Every rider used our 2012 spec tyres for both days of testing on the new era of 1000cc machines, including five of the new CRT bikes.
 
“The tyres we supplied are those that will be used for next season, but this test was the first official one for the 1000c bikes so this is the first stage in learning these new machines so we are not resting on our laurels. We will keep learning their characteristics with each test and continue our tyre development into and through next season.
 
“We started developing this new family of tyres from the post-Valencia test at this time last year and used every test opportunity during this season to continue with our development programme, and I am confident what we have will be a marked step forward in addressing the specific concerns from this year.
 
“Specifically, our objectives from these new tyres are to make their grip characteristics easier to manage, to improve warm-up performance and to increase their temperature operating range. From the data we have collected from the last two days, I am satisfied that we have met these objectives and rider feedback has been positive so I am confident for tyre performance next year. I’m also happy with the positive feedback even from CRT teams about our new tyre and its warm-up performance.
 
“I’d like to thank all the teams and riders for their support these last two days and for the significant role they have all played in developing these tyres this year, for the time they dedicated on track and for their feedback and comments.”

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