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Heritage
Gymkhana
Gymkhana sees single cars racing against the clock for one lap around a 1-2km technical paved course. It is a hugely popular form of motor sport with regional series throughout Japan as entry is comparatively easy, and classes are open to any registered car. There are levels of competition for everyone from novices to experts. The top series is the All Japan Gymkhana Championship.
In recent years many competitions have been held at mini-circuits that allow higher speeds and demand a high level of technique. Regulation revisions in 2003 resulted in less-modified cars, which tightened up the times and the competition. The relative importance of a car's set-up, including tyres, has increased.
Bridgestone developed the RE540S tyre in 1998 to deliver an optimally balanced combination of dry and wet performances for gymkhana events and circuits. Bridgestone bucked the trend for high dry performance tyres to create a unique tyre concept and the advantages it produced made Bridgestone the choice of many All Japan champions.
In the past 14 years Tetsuya Yamano took 12 titles, while in 2001 and 2002, Kiyoshi Tenma won consecutive championships in the ultra-competitive A4 class, and in 2005 he won back the title in SA3 class.
The RE540S was developed with an eye on improving control at the limit and wear resistance, along with an optimal balance between dry and wet performances. It wasn't just intended for competition use, but for ordinary drivers who wanted to drive all-out at the circuits.
Inevitably, rival manufacturers quickly developed their own new tyres and gaining advantage from using new compounds, they began to pull ahead of the RE540S in dry circuit lap times.
Bridgestone was determined to regain the upper hand so launched a new tyre development effort with the aim to preserve Bridgestone's optimal balance concept between control at the limit on dry and wet surfaces and wear resistance.
Development of the RE55S was carried out on an unprecedented scale. Keiichi Tsuchiya, Tetsuya Yamano and Masaki Nishihara acted as development drivers at the Tsukuba Circuit, the Central Circuit and others.
User evaluations were also conducted at races and Gymkhana events around Japan. For the first time on an S tyre, Bridgestone used an asymmetric directional tread pattern, and also adopted specialised internal tyre construction on the left and right. A special, cutting-edge compound was also used.
These features represented complex manufacturing challenges that were ultimately conquered on the road to mass production. The RE55S, born of extensive testing after clearing many hurdles, wasn't just for enthusiasts; it could also meet needs from Gymkhana to circuits. It made its debut in 2003 to great customer acclaim.
At the 2003 All Japan Gymkhana Championships cars equipped with RE55S tyres made an immediate impact. The new "N class" was for cars with limited modifications, and tyre performance was a major factor.
Even in chilly March weather the tyres quickly worked up a grip. RE55S development drivers Tetsuya Yamano (N-3 class) and Masaki Nishihara (N-4 class) both won the opening event. Yamano eventually claimed his tenth N-3 class title with four victories, and in N-4 Masafumi Hishii took the crown in a car clad with the same RE55S tyres. In the N-4 class RE55S-shod cars dominated with eight wins in nine races.
In 2005, Tetsuya Yamano won the championship and achieved a new Japanese record by taking the All Japan Gymkhana Championship title 12 times.
2006 saw Bridgestone introduce a new specification tyre to the Gymkhana series, the POTENZA RE55S for use on high temperature road surfaces. The combination of the new spec and existent spec tyres has provided Bridgestone with two class champions from a total of nine Gymkhana classes.
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