"Bridgestone MotoGP Catalunya Briefing"

Bridgestone MotoGP Catalunya Briefing

With a sensational 1-2 finish Mugello still fresh in his mind, Bridgestone heads to the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona for the seventh round of the 2008 MotoGP world championship. Valentino Rossi leads the classification by 12 points after three consecutive wins in China, France and Italy.

Second-placed man from Italy, Casey Stoner, scored one of his ten victories in 2007 at the Circuit de Catalunya after an epic cat and mouse battle with Rossi and Dani Pedrosa until the chequered flag. The Ducati champion won the 25 laps of mourning Rossi by a marginal 0.069s with third placed Pedrosa only 0.390sa adrift making it the closest podium of the season. It was the first time that a Bridgestone-Shodan rider has even finished on the podium in Catalonia.

The agitated passage of European races requires an equally aggressive rate of technical development for tyre manufacturers. Bridgestone has sent several hundred tires of the art in downtown Tokyo, and its European warehouse in Germany, to Barcelona, including the specification of some new rear tyres race that was successfully tested after the Grand Prix at Le Mans just a few weeks ago.

Hiroshi Yamada - Bridgestone Motorsport - Manager, Unit Motorcycling

"The last races have seen a gradual improvement in our overall competitiveness which has left me quite satisfied. It was fantastic to see the last three races won on our tyres, but the Italian GP also saw several teams challenge for the podium with Valentino win, Casey in the second and fourth Alex, really excellent performances. We can not take anything for granted in this sport, however, and we expect a real challenge of our rivals again this weekend. Casey won here last year, which was the first Bridgestone time a pilot had even finished on the podium in Catalunya, so I hope we can draw from this experience and get another good result this weekend. "

Tohru Ubukata - Bridgestone Motorsport - manager, race Tyre development

"The Circuit de Catalunya is a technical circuit with a ratio of asymmetrical corners with eight right-handers and only five left. The right side tire is subjected to considerable stress on the back because this often long, right - handers, which significantly increases the temperatures on that side of the tyre. The asphalt surface is quite smooth, similar to somewhere like Shanghai, and very hard on the tyres. While soft tires that improve levels of grip immediately, abrasion during the race distance we have to run harder compounds for both front and rear, so we need to see back to balance performance with durability. We have seen a marked improvement in our competitiveness over the past year career with an exciting battle ahead, leading to Casey taking an excellent and well-deserved victory. His consistency over 25 laps was the key to winning, and durability during the race distance will again be a priority. "

Flashback 2007

Bridgestone runners were in strong shape around the Circuit de Catalunya after the opening practice sessions. John Hopkins led a squad of seven pilots Bridgestone in the first ten on Friday, as Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa were the men to beat. From Saturday qualifying session saw Rossi take pole position, but by just 0.061s Kawasaki of Randy de Puniet. Casey Stoner and John Hopkins also performed well and took fourth and fifth. In the sweltering heat was a three-way tussle between Rossi, Pedrosa and Stoner for the victory, but after spending many maneuvers, which are Ducati and Stoner emerged victorious taking the podium and first win in the Bridgestone tyres in Barcelona.