Lorenzo secures Silverstone victory on durable Bridgestone compounds

Round Six of the 2012 MotoGP Championship saw Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo win the British Grand Prix for his third consecutive MotoGP victory. Tyre supplier Bridgestone pronounced itself pleased that the compounds it supplied in its rear slicks allowed riders to perform in milder conditions than may have been anticipated. With rain just about staying clear, track temperatures that were cool for June at 22-28°C were the major concern, but the availability of medium-soft rear slicks, selected by all but Ducati’s Valentino Rossi, allowed the field to combat this coolness. The front soft and medium compound tyres split the riders, including front-runners Lorenzo – on the more durable medium – and Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner, who selected the soft, which warms up faster. Bridgestone said that the compounds both “worked well” and the close racing between the front-runners was indicative of both tyres’ quality.

In almost a carbon-copy of the last race at Catalunya, Lorenzo came on strong in the second half of the race to pass Stoner for the lead with nine laps remaining. Stoner held on for second place ahead of teammate Dani Pedrosa, while pole-sitter Alvaro Bautista claimed his best ever MotoGP finish with fourth place. Best of the CRT riders at Silverstone was Power Electronics Aspar rider Aleix Espargaro who emerged the victor in a race-long duel with teammate Randy de Puniet to finish in eleventh place.

Shinji Aoki, manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department said: “Thankfully the morning warm-up session today wasn’t affected by rain which allowed teams to evaluate different slick tyre options for the race. Spots of rain started to fall just as riders went on to the grid and for this reason all but one rider selected the softer rear slick in case conditions worsened. Front tyre choice was more varied with just over half the riders on the harder front and with Jorge and Casey enjoying a good fight though they selected different compound front slicks. I am pleased that both of the new specification front slicks we brought to Silverstone worked well over a race distance.”

Hiroshi Yamada, manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department said: “What a fantastic race we had today! There were so many great battles throughout the field and the pace at the start of the race was very fast, so I think the better warm-up performance offered by the new front slicks allowed riders to push from the first lap. Jorge’s was once again very impressive on the Yamaha today but most of all I was amazed by Cal’s great performance to finish sixth despite starting last and being injured.
 
“The weather was still unsettled today which made tyre choice difficult for the riders, but Silverstone’s susceptibility to poor weather was the reason we revised the rear slick compounds for this race and I think this development, along with the full availability of the new front slick tyre helped riders cope with the conditions we had this weekend.”

Three wins in a row for Jorge Lorenzo sees him lead Casey Stoner by 25 points in the championship classification, while Dani Pedrosa’s podium at Silverstone consolidates third position overall and he sits 14 points behind Stoner.