Motegi press conference transcript27/04/2009

Japan Grand Prix, Twin Ring Motegi circuit
Saturday 25 April 2009
Press conference transcript  

In the press conference:
Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director Bridgestone Motorsport
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO Dorna
Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha
Casey Stoner, Ducati Team
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda  

Welcome speeches  
Hiroshi Yasukawa
Hello and good evening ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for joining our press conference, we are very pleased. This Motegi [race] is a very important race for us. Unfortunately today the weather is not so good but I’m expecting tomorrow is good. You will remember here in 2007 we got our first World Championship with Casey Stoner and Ducati, and last year again in 2008 we got our second World Championship with Valentino Rossi and Yamaha. This is very great news for us and a big history for Bridgestone Motorsport. This year we are starting a new challenge, we are Official Tyre Supplier to MotoGP. Now our new challenge mission is fairness and we are going to produce safe and good quality tyres, and give equal treatment to all teams and all riders. This is very important, but fortunately we have very good experience because we are Official Tyre Supplier for Formula One, IndyCar and GP2. We have many good experiences, and we are going to transfer these good experiences to MotoGP and we are going to try our best. Of course, nowadays all over the world the economy is very very difficult and serious, but obviously all riders, teams and Dorna understand this situation. We should find a good compromise, and we are going to continue to support this very important race series, MotoGP. Anyhow, without your support we cannot do it. Thank you very much. And also this time our Senior Vice President Mr. Matsunaga is here and he’d like to welcome you.  

Carmelo Ezpeleta
Good evening to everybody, thank you for being here. Thank you Hiroshi. You know from last year when we started to discuss the possibility of making a one tyre rule, there has been a lot of discussion after that, and knowing the economic situation we think we have taken the right decision. We have a very good partner, Bridgestone has a lot of experience in four wheel motorsport and in recent years in MotoGP. Of course we are starting the second race of the championship but we are confident with Bridgestone and with what we are doing. Also with the help of the safety commission we are trying to do as much as we can to have the best possibilities to have spectacular races and safe races. We say thank you to Bridgestone to have the possibility to support us in this difficult situation and I am sure we take the right decision now and for the future. But in any case the most important [thing] for us is to say thank you to Bridgestone for supplying one tyre for all of MotoGP. Thank you very much.    

Q&A session  
Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director, Bridgestone Motorsport
Q: Bridgestone has been the official Formula One tyre supplier since 2007. How much experience and know-how can you draw upon from this and bring to MotoGP?
A: Actually in this monopoly situation, fairness is most important, and of course supplying our tyres for all teams and all riders. This means an increase in the number of tyres, and we have to learn how to bring our tyres and transport our tyres to each circuit. Also, we have to send enough numbers of the service crews and so on. But anyhow, we have lots of experience of how to support MotoGP.  

Carmelo Ezpeleta – CEO, Dorna
Q: MotoGP has entered a new era with a single tyre supplier. How do you think this will affect the championship?
A: You know [when] we first decided to make the one tyre rule, you remember all the discussions regarding that, to provide all the teams and all the riders with the same quality of tyres, and we think this is very important. The second thing is we opened the discussions and Bridgestone offered this possibility, but we need to remember we were talking to a manufacturer of tyres who won the last two championships. This is very important as we have all the best quality to supply that. Obviously a monopoly situation is different to the multi battle as the performance is not the same but we are quite confident with the experience of Bridgestone, and also regarding this I think the championship will be more spectacular and there will be more battles. This is our goal right now.  

Valentino Rossi – World Champion, 2008
Q: You switched to Bridgestones last year and you won the championship, in fact you won the championship here in Motegi. How do you feel now that everyone is using the same tyres as you, and how is it going to affect things?
A: Hello to everybody first of all. Bridgestone was impressive because they arrived in 500cc MotoGP in 2002 and in that moment started from a big disadvantage compared to the other tyre, but with logical work and with time and step by step arrived at around 2006 at the same level as the other tyres, and after improved a lot. We saw the transformation a lot. Last winter I used the Bridgestone tyres and it was great because it was possible to ride the bike at the limit and I could go a lot faster. So I think the mono-tyre rule is positive especially because we are with Bridgestone which is the best one. For sure now is just one race, I think we have a small modification to improve the rules but I think will be a good way to make a good show and to put all the riders on the same level with tyres.  

Q: How has the adoption of a single tyre affected the way you will approach the setup of the bike this year?
A: Yes, at the beginning, the first time I used Bridgestone I had a good feeling on the bike already, but it is not just put the new tyre on the bike and all change. We have to adjust a little bit the riding style and a lot the setup of the bike, but for sure last year under one point of view was easier because it was possible to have five or six different tyres, so it’s possible with the right tyre for your bike to fix a lot of problems. Now the situation has changed radically and you have to modify your bike to try to use all the potential of this type of tyre made for the mono-brand. For sure we have a little less performance compared to last year but anyway the feeling and the enjoyment with the bike is the same so it is positive.  

Casey Stoner – 2nd, 2008
Q: You and Ducati have long used Bridgestone tyres. What does it mean to you that every rider on the grid is now on the same tyres?
A: For myself we’ve found it very positive. You know we had a lot of things last year, a few difficult things I suppose, but since I came to Bridgestone tyres I’ve had nothing but a sweet ride. We’ve struggled a lot in the years previous and as soon as I arrived at Bridgestone I’ve had a lot of feedback not only from the tyres but from the company itself. I find them very easy to work with, and they work with the riders to try and develop everything they can, and to try and give us the best product they can. With the single tyre rule I’ve found it a lot better for our situation. In the past we haven’t had the perfect solution for the tyre for the race and you have to work a lot with the bike to get it working. And it’s very similar in this situation; the tyres have got a very broad range for tyre temperature working so you can use quite a soft tyre in quite cold conditions and also quite hot. Perfect example of this is in 2007 when I won the race in the day, I used exactly the same tyre in 2008 to win the race at night, with I think almost 20 degree track temperature difference, with exactly the same tyre. This shows how much versatility these tyres have and what different ranges we can run them in. So I think this year they’ve got a very good system. It’s been a very clever company to have been around for such a short time and by the end of things dominate the championship. So it’s been very impressive to watch them come up.  

Q: You have said in the past that you’ve always had the approach of making the bike work around the tyres. Do you think this approach is now giving you a significant advantage in the single tyre era?
A: For me, last year was similar to everybody else. We had more options so we could sometimes make a tyre make the bike a little bit better than maybe we had it setup. This year we’re having to concentrate a lot more on the bike. I think it’s bringing a lot more of the racers out and getting us to use our brains a little bit more, work a lot more with the teams to make the bike work better over a whole race distance. For me it’s working very well. The tyres, like Valentino said, maybe aren’t the same performance as last year, but we’re able to do some fairly good lap times this year and with such a wide range of temperature it’s working very very well.  
Dani Pedrosa – 3rd, 2008
Q: You made the switch to Bridgestones for the last five races of last season, from Indianapolis onwards. Has that helped you to make the transition do you think?
A: Yes, of course to have the last five races it gives you an experience and for us it was important to do it. Still we have to continue but I think it was a good thing to do  

Q: Have you had to change your riding style at all with the single tyre?
A: I think the biggest change was when I really switched to Bridgestone and there was when I felt I needed to change my riding style a little bit. Also quite a bit the setting of the bike. The last races of last year compared to the new single tyres it doesn’t change so much.         
 
Open Q&A  
Q: This weekend the riders have said that they would like to have more than two options of rear tyres. Do you see this happening after Jerez?
Carmelo Ezpeleta: In any case, when we made the agreement last year and we received the offer from Bridgestone, we worked closely on this. We are open to possibilities. Of course the economic implications are important. Of course Bridgestone and we, Dorna, are open to discuss this matter, but of course as Mr Yasukawa explained the most important thing is to have spectacular and safe races.  

Q: Talking to the riders, we heard that they would like to have two types of rain tyre for full wet conditions and intermediate tyres, and even two compounds in the same tyre. Are you ready to support this?
Valentino Rossi: Yesterday we speak also with the other riders and also with Carmelo and the safety commission because I think this is a question of safety. When we start last year in Malaysia and Bridgestone gave to us this idea, we say ok but we have to wait for the first two or three races to understand if it is enough. Quite difficult like this, in the cold or in a condition when you don’t have so much water on the track because we have just one wet option. So now we have to speak and we try to make a little bit better. I think with just a small modify it will be possible to improve this situation.  

Hiroshi Yasukawa: We have to discuss and find whether we can reach a compromise but the most important side of the single tyre is that it is the same for everyone. Equal numbers and equal quality; these are the most important things.  

Casey Stoner: I’d like to have an opinion on this because I find the system to be working well. I don’t think it’s an issue of safety. I think if everybody is on the same tyres we’ve all got the same situation. We’ve got a soft tyre and a hard tyre. The worst situation I think is going to be like yesterday when we use the softest option we have and I think there was maybe one crash so it wasn’t so bad. I think the situation will improve for sure when we get to the race as I think the temperature will be a little more normal.