MotoGP Feature - Halfway House
07/07/2006
With half the season finished, Bridgestone faces the second part of MotoGP 2006-style with optimism.
The Japanese tyre company had embarked on the first nine of seventeen races with a clear goal, and had equally clearly achieved it. The second half of the season promises a pay-off.
As with last year, Bridgestone entered the series with three factory teams: Ducati from Italy, and their compatriots Kawasaki and Suzuki. The red Italian bikes have been the most successful, but both the other teams have also benefited from the latest-generation improvements to the increasingly competitive tyres.
The mainly European first half included a number of Bridgestone’s previous problem tracks, where last year they had struggled. Development was aimed directly at improving performance on those low-grip surfaces. One race win, an improving series of rostrum finishes, and a consistent front-row qualifying record proved the strength of progress.
For the second half-year, a flurry of fly-away races takes in a swathe of Bridgestone-friendly tracks, where their teams scored some of their strongest results last year. There is every reason to hope that the tyres’ suitability for these tracks will only have improved.
After the Dutch and British races, at the fulcrum of the season, Bridgestone’s motorcycle racing head Hiroshi Yamada looked back at the first half-year, and forward to the remaining GPs.
“We have already had nine races, and there were some tracks where we did not have a good result last year. Many tracks … Turkey, Qatar, Le Mans, Catalunya, Assen, Donington Park. And until now, the only bad result we have had this year was at Donington Park. At all other circuits, out performance had improved a lot,” he said.
The best of a depleted Bridgestone squad in Britain was eighth-placed John Hopkins (Suzuki). But in the previous eight races Bridgestone had backed up their win with three seconds and a third.
“We were a little bit disappointed at Donington Park,” continued Yamada. "Last year we got second place there, but that was in the rain. In the dry this year, our qualifying tyre gave a very good result (second and fourth)."
"In the race, we had problems with consistency," he added. "But I had expected trouble at those three circuits. We were very happy with our improvement at Catalunya (fourth) and Assen (second)."
“Now the coming circuits should be easier,” he continued.
“Last year our tyre worked well at the Sachsenring for Shinya Nakano. Laguna Seca is different for everybody. Then the races from the Czech Republic, we had really good results last year. Our tyres are very strong for Motegi, Malaysia and Phillip Island. It should be the time to enjoy our performance work,” he smiled.
“Before the season, I said that our target was to win five races. Until now, we have only one. But there is still the chance to win four more,” concluded Yamada.