Bridgestone furthering ‘racetrack to road’ approach with new Battlax products

Speaking at the close of this year’s MotoGP season, Bridgestone’s motorsport manager Hiroshi Yamada shared that in 2014 the tyre maker’s race experience will be brought to market in a pair of new products. “We will be releasing two production Battlax motorcycle road tyres next year that will draw on recent MotoGP technological developments,” commented Yamada. “Both these tyres will probably be the purest example to date of our ‘racetrack to road’ concept and will offer exceptionally high levels of safety, performance and control to consumers.” The motorsport manager added that 2014 will be a “big year for Bridgestone both on and off-track.”

As for the tyres Bridgestone will supply to next year’s MotoGP championship, Yamada said data acquired during the Valencia post-season test and recent private testing is still being analysed, however he noted it is evident from testing that the performance of the new open class machines is quite high. “It will be a challenge for us to supply a softer rear slick option for these machines, but I hope to see some exciting battles between the factory and open class machines next year,” he commented. “Over the winter we will develop tyres for next year’s pre-season tests that will improve upon the key performance characteristics we want to offer riders; warm-up performance and greater usability. We’re also continuing down the development path for our rear tyres so that we can offer two viable rear tyre options at every circuit to promote greater variability in tyre choice on race day.”