Bridgestone motorcycle tyres supplied for competition
Bridgestone began supplying motorcycle tyres for racing in the 1980s, starting with the 250cc and 500cc classes of the All Japan Championships. Tadayuki Okada won Bridgestone's first series championship in 1989. At the Suzuka Grand Prix in the 1987 season, Honda works rider Dai Kobayashi entered as a wild card in the 250cc class and took a stunning victory to give Bridgestone its first podium in a world championship motorcycle race. Bridgestone has continued to enjoy competitive success in WGP 125cc racing, having won more than 20 titles to testify to the capabilities of its motorcycle tyres.
The better the results in the 125cc class the more keen the technical staff were to compete in the top-level 500cc category, today's MotoGP class. But even the step up from 125cc to 250cc demanded clearing many technical hurdles, ascending to the heights of 500cc would require even greater motorcycle technology progress.
Bridgestone supplies motorcycle tyres to 500cc
But there was to be no step-by-step move to 500cc. In 2000 Keisuke Suzuki, then a Bridgestone Board Member, now Advisor, was impressed by the 150,000 enthusiastic fans he saw packing the Spanish GP. The daring decision to begin developing tyres for 500cc competition was made. With the cooperation of Honda Racing (HRC), a bike was borrowed for testing. The project team was christened "Rey Project" - 'Rey" means "king" in Spanish.
The project team was assembled from staff who had no experience working with racing tyre development so would bring no preconceived notions to the effort. The goal was to take a more scientific approach to motorcycle tyre development. In January 2001 the first track tests were conducted at Jerez in Spain. To accompany real-world testing, a drum tester specifically designed for motorbikes was created to scientifically develop and evaluate Bridgestone's motorcycle tyres. Eight months after the first tests the decision was made to enter the 2002 championship.
Racing on motorcycle tyres is a different story
Bridgestone certainly received a baptism of fire as the differences between testing and actual racing in the two-wheeled world were soon glaringly obvious. Testing had been conducted at five or six circuits where GP events were held but some races were on circuits where the motorcycle tyres had never been tested. MotoGP had also made significant changes to its regulations in 2002, allowing 4-stroke and 2-stroke engines to run in the same races. Teams using Bridgestone motorcycle tyres had 2-stroke engines, and the inferior power compared to 4-stroke competitors was undeniable. The losses piled up, but in the latter half of the season Bridgestone gradually started to see some results. In qualifying for the last race, the Australian Grand Prix, Bridgestone-shod bikes took pole, third and fourth positions on the front row of the grid.
In 2003 all the Bridgestone-shod bikes boasted four-stroke engines and Japanese rider Makoto Tamada was racing for Honda. The second year of the partnership between Bridgestone and Proton showed promise. In his debut year, Tamada produced some notable performances finishing third at the Brazilian Grand Prix and fourth in Italy. Tamada's two finishes in the upper ranks proved that Bridgestone's tyre performance was approaching the top level. But the hurdles to claiming a world championship remained a formidable challenge.
First win on Bridgestone motorcycle tyres becomes reality
Bridgestone achieved the win it had been looking for when Tamada swept past a stream of riders, including reigning champion Valentino Rossi, to win the Brazilian Grand Prix in Rio on his Camel Honda. Tamada's eventual two victories and three pole positions in 2004 exceeded Bridgestone’s expectations. Ducati joined the list of manufacturers supplied with Bridgestone motorcycle tyres for the 2005 season with two victories for Loris Capirossi the highlight of the year.
2006 saw Bridgestone round off its strongest season to date. With a total of four victories, 11 individual podium positions and six pole positions, it became clear that significant technical advances had been made in Bridgestone’s fifth MotoGP season. The final race of the year in Valencia perfectly encapsulated Bridgestone’s successful season with Ducati duo Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi taking the team and Bridgestone’s first ever one-two after what was a faultless weekend. Capirossi’s victories in Jerez, Brno and Motegi enabled him to take an excellent third in the championship. His season-opening Spanish success also marked the first ever victory on European soil by a Bridgestone-shod rider.
More teams supplied with Bridgestone motorcycle tyres
In 2007, Bridgestone increased its team portfolio with the introduction of Gresini Honda and Pramac D’Antin to the ever-growing Bridgestone family. Alongside Ducati, Kawasaki and Suzuki, these new teams provided Bridgestone with invaluable motorcycle tyre testing feedback for the season. Meticulous race preparations were more important than ever before with the additional introduction of new tyre regulations, which stipulated that each rider was allowed a maximum of 31 tyres per weekend. Bridgestone ended the 2007 season on a high when the company was able to celebrate its first MotoGP world championship with Casey Stoner and the Ducati Team.
Bridgestone’s team and rider line-up continued to grow into 2008, with the introduction of the Fiat Yamaha Team and multi-world champion Valentino Rossi. Supplying all five manufacturers in MotoGP with Bridgestone motorcycle tyres was a positive challenge for Bridgestone as the amount of data and quality of feedback received from these teams is integral for future development. The 2008 season saw a second consecutive championship win on a Bridgestone-shod bike, when Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi claimed his sixth ever motorcycling premier class title.
Appointed Official Tyre Supplier to MotoGP
In 2009, Bridgestone’s rise in prominence in MotoGP continued with the appointment as the series’ Official Tyre Supplier for a period of three years, supplying tyres and support to every team and rider on the grid. This appointment, the first for motorcycle racing’s premier class, signalled a remarkable milestone in Bridgestone’s two-wheel motorsport heritage, coming just seven seasons after the manufacturer first entered top-flight grand prix racing in 2002.
The 2009 season also marked another milestone; 50 grand prix victories on Bridgestone tyres. Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner fittingly took this historic victory at his home grand prix in Phillip Island. The Australian was the first World Champion on Bridgestone tyres and has also won more grands prix than any other rider, finishing 2009 with a total of 20 victories and 33 podium finishes.
Bridgestone a constant for teams
As the 2010 season gets underway with new riders, new teams and new bikes, the one constant amid all of the change is Bridgestone, having signed a contract for three years as the single tyre supplier. Bridgestone’s activity in 2010 remains relatively unchanged with only a few adjustments to the regulations and modifications to the available tyre compounds, both made with the benefit of a year’s experience.