Bridgestone meets Dorna safety advisor at first MotoGP testing
Bridgestone completed its first round of pre-season MotoGP testing in early February, taking its latest hard and extra-hard front, and medium and hard rear compounds to Sepang, Malaysia. The tyre supplier also took the opportunity to meet with series organiser Dorna’s safety advisor, Loris Capirossi, who was there to “continue the good work Bridgestone and I started at Valencia last November”, in his words. He also scotched media reports of critical comments he was alleged to have made about Bridgestone’s rubber, saying he has “shared a long and positive relationship” with the supplier. “[In] Malaysia we made our plans for the season and most importantly for this time, we discussed the 2012 specification tyres and how the riders’ are responding to them,” he told the media.
“In my discussions with the riders, the general feeling is that the 2012 specification tyres are very good and they’re happy with the improved feeling they offer, which is important for the rider’s confidence. Also, the experimental front tyre that was tested in Sepang gave the riders an understanding of Bridgestone’s direction with development,” Capirossi said.
Capirossi also discussed his responsibilities as Safety Advisor to Dorna: “helping with tyres is just one part of this, but in everything I do the most important thing is I know how to speak the riders’ language. I was in the same position as them until just a couple of months ago so maybe there are some things they can explain to me that maybe they find it hard to explain to someone else. The riders respect me, so this puts me in a good position to offer advice on what they require. With the tyres, for sure I am very optimistic moving forward as Bridgestone and I are working very well together.”
In the testing, Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner was fastest over the three days of testing at Sepang – lapping a second faster than the best time at last year’s corresponding test – but away from the timing screens, Bridgestone was continuing its evaluation of the 2012 specification tyre. Tohru Ubukata, general manager at Bridgestone’s Motorsport Tyre Development Department said that Bridgestone has addressed the tyre performance requirements of the CRT machines to be used in MotoGP this year.
“We considered the introduction of CRT machines when developing the 2012 specification tyres and so these tyres offer the same level of performance to all the bikes on the grid. Our main technical objectives of improved warm-up performance and a wider operating temperature range not only enhance rider confidence, they also ensure that the performance potential of the 2012 specification tyres is more accessible to the CRT machines. The CRT results at the first tests were quite promising and indicate that the 2012 specification tyres are well suited to CRT bikes,” Ubukata explained.
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