Lorenzo triumphs at the Dutch TT in Assen26/06/2010

Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium.  Rear: Medium, Hard (asymmetric)  

Jorge Lorenzo used the harder rear Bridgestone slick to take victory in Assen today in a race that pitted the increased edge grip of the softer rear slick tyre against the extra durability of the harder rear compound.  

Making an early break from the pack with a good start, the Fiat Yamaha rider pulled 1.2seconds ahead of the field at the start, before being caught by Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner, both of whom benefitted from the early advantage of the softer rear tyre. By lap ten though, Lorenzo started to open a gap that grew steadily until the finish.  

The battle of the compounds continued throughout the field too, as Ben Spies nurtured his softer rear slick to pass Andrea Dovizioso, on the harder rear tyre, on lap 16. Randy de Puniet, also on the hard rear, then had a great scrap with Dovizioso and the pair traded places five times in the last two laps.  

Rounding out the top ten, Marco Simoncelli used a hard rear slick to emerge ahead of his close battle with Aleix Espargaro, who was on the softer option rear. As the track temperature reached 47 degrees Celsius, every rider opted for the harder option front slick.  

Hiroshi Yamada, Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department said:
“Congratulations to Jorge and Fiat Yamaha for their fourth victory this season! He rode a great race and is proving to be ever-stronger at each event. It is good to see Dani on the podium again, and of course Casey with his maiden podium finish this year. There were many exciting battles in that race, for fourth between Ben, Randy, and Andrea, between Marco and Aleix for ninth and between Mika, Hector and Loris for eleventh. There were a good number of spectators today to enjoy these and there was a great atmosphere to celebrate this 80th anniversary of the Dutch TT.”  

Tohru Ubukata, Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department said:
“I am very happy with the result today because the race showed that both our rear tyre compounds were working well. Jorge used the harder rear to win by nearly three seconds, whilst Dani set the fastest lap of the race on the softer rear, only 0.01 seconds slower than the pole position time. We can also see that the consistency was good even for the softer option, as Ben’s penultimate lap was only 0.2seconds slower than his personal best during the race. This race demonstrates the performance overlap of our rear tyre options, and also shows how different rider and bike packages favour our different rear tyre options.”  

Jorge Lorenzo – Fiat Yamaha Team – Race Winner said:
“This race was a little more difficult than Silverstone! I knew Dani was fast on the soft tyre but we were going with the hard tyre so I knew I had a little advantage at the end. Casey was also fast at the beginning, so I tried to stay focused and concentrated. I made a good start, waited a little bit, then I could open every lap this little gap. The last laps were quote difficult to keep the pace high, but the important thing is that we can always be on top.”