An unwavering passion for motorsport09/05/2009

The Bridgestone Corporation will continue to support many motorsport activities in 2009. Activities include supplying tyres to Formula One Grands Prix, the pinnacle of four-wheeled motor racing, and MotoGP, the top category of two-wheeled motorsport, as well as many other international and domestic races.

This year, the Bridgestone Motorsport website presents a series of features with the people behind Bridgestone’s motor racing efforts as well as one or two who are an integral part of the motor racing community as a whole. In this first article, respected motorsport journalist Kunihiko Akai (KA) talks with Mr. Hiroshi Yasukawa (HK), Director of Bridgestone Motorsport. Mr. Yasukawa has devoted himself to motorsport since the 1970s and is indispensable when it comes to Bridgestone’s motorsport activities. 

KA: First of all, Yasukawa-san, please tell me about Bridgestone’s programs for this year’s motorsport activities.
HY: Bridgestone will continue to provide tyres to various categories this year. It is true that our company is experiencing the very difficult environment of the current economic recession. We will, however, continue our motorsport activities as we do not wish to stop such valuable sporting activities.

Our program includes both four-wheel and two-wheel activities and like last year we will support Formula One, the GP2 Series, IndyCar and other large-scale international categories. Meanwhile our support for domestic four-wheel racing will include SUPER GT, Formula Nippon (FN), Gymkhana, Rally, and Dirt Trial.  Tyres to be used for Rally and Dirt Trial will be mainly those of consumer products.  I must not forget about tyres for karting of course. Bridgestone’s motorsport activities started from karting and it is the basis of our activities so we hope to continue supporting it properly, both in and out of Japan. With regards to two-wheels we will provide tyres to the MotoGP World Championship as well as the All Japan Road Race Championship and Suzuka 8-hour Endurance Road Race.         

KA: I understand Bridgestone covers diverse categories. Could you tell me how you are coping in the current economic recession? 
HY: Fortunately our top management fully understands the value of motorsport. Of course we cannot count on that too much, and we repeatedly review every important aspect, such as expenditure, again and again. That said, we have found that some teams are operating under more difficult conditions, so I think we need to try to bring about a proper balance on that too.  Most of the top category races which Bridgestone now provides tyres for, such as Formula One, GP2, MotoGP, FN, etc., are organized using the sole tyre supplier system. It means all the tyres they use are those supplied by Bridgestone.

KA: Does the single tyre supply status have any influence on your motorsport activities under the recession?
HY: It helps both the tyre manufacturer and teams in terms of cost reduction. For example, our technical team would be looking more actively for new technologies if there was the same competition with other tyre manufacturers that we have seen in previous years. This would incur huge amounts of money for development. On the other hand, the single tyre status involves no competition and therefore cost reductions for pre-season and in-season tests are possible. Single tyre supply status also requires more facilities, services, bases, transportation capacities and manpower because we have to prepare tyres for all participants.  I believe the switch to having a sole tyre supplier for Formula One and MotoGP has been employed as a consequence of the fact that the FIA and DORNA, the respective governing bodies, have been taking the overall environment into their consideration.

KA: Have there been any new rules applied to tyres this year as a result of becoming the sole tyre supplier?
HY: The limit on the numbers of tyres used in Formula One has not changed since last year. It means that the FIA already had the idea of cost reduction last year, when the single tyre status was introduced. But it’s not only tyres. The total running distance during tests has been shortened to 15,000 kilometers too, which is half of that of last year. In addition, limits have been imposed on the number of tyres used at tests, which will also eventually lead to cost reduction. That is a big step, I think.   

KA: Are there any adverse effects emerging out of the single tyre status?
HY: Without competition, it would be easy to assume that such high-quality and costly materials are not required…Never. We must constantly provide our customers, who are the teams in a racing environment, with the highest quality tyres. Therefore it is important to not downgrade the quality of material. You may ask how we work on cost reduction. It is achieved by making more effective manufacturing processes because a single tyre status put some limits on specifications, while a competitive environment requires quite a lot of them. Effective manufacturing processes reduce costs.    

KA: Being the sole tyre supplier seems to have some difficulties as you might end up being complacent?
HY: I must say motorsport is quite a severe world. In such circumstances we have gained a good reputation and developed faith in the Bridgestone brand and our products, which in turn have become the assets of our company. Our mission is to transfer what we receive from motorsport to consumer products. We learn many things just because we are the single tyre supplier. We have polished our technology to produce many tyres with the same performance and we try to produce high-performance tyres effectively. I believe it is a good opportunity for us to see things from diverse aspects.

KA: Finally, I would like to ask you what motorsport means to Bridgestone.
HY: The aim of continuing motorsport activities is to tell people about our technical capabilities, and hopefully to improve our image and recognition of our brand. However, what we need is not only to enhance our brand recognition. More important is that the name of Bridgestone emerges out of those motorsport categories in which Bridgestone shod cars are competing. In other words, the impact is much bigger when our name comes out during motosport events, especially in the world’s top categories such as Formula One and MotoGP, rather than just showing our name on TV commercials. That is because we display trackside signage and have our brand logos placed on Formula One cars. Our motorsport activities will help improve Bridgestone brand recognition and image, and I believe that’s why we keep going on with our activities. 

To hear further insights from Mr. Yasukawa, please read the following articles:
Life in MotoGP
Importance of rider feedback
Developing Formula One technology
Charlie Whiting interview
Formula One benefits for the brand
Logistics and Formula One
Motorsport and the Spanish market
Importance of Motorsport in North America