Bridgestone satisfied with the initial results
The Valencia circuit in Spain hosted the second major test event of 2008 between January 22 and 24, where ten of the eleven F1 teams were present. Bridgestone, of course, supplied the tires for each of them. Grooved dry tires were in action throughout the event, which took place in dry conditions. No wet tire […]
The Valencia circuit in Spain hosted the second major test event of 2008 between January 22 and 24, where ten of the eleven F1 teams were present. Bridgestone, of course, supplied the tires for each of them. Grooved dry tires were in action throughout the event, which took place in dry conditions. No wet tire range was used.
« Valencia is an interesting circuit with a mix of low and medium-speed corners. There is also a fairly long straight, which makes this track useful for data accumulation, » said Bridgestone’s technical director Tetsuro Kobayashi.
« It was a useful exercise to see how our tires could interact on the latest team cars. We didn’t have any interruptions due to bad weather during these three days. »
« The regulations on the car are generally the same as before. But with new cars, it becomes more critical for teams and drivers to maximize performance and seek to extract the greatest potential possible from Bridgestone tires. »
« From Valencia, we head to Barcelona where eight teams are expected and will use Bridgestone tires, » he added.
« Ferrari and Toyota will be put to the test in Bahrain from February 4th to 6th and from February 9th to 11th. The atmospheric conditions are expected to be much warmer than what we experience in Europe. After that, there will be Jerez with a lineup of nine teams between February 12th and 14th. »
« Next, six teams will head to Barcelona, still in Spain from February 19 to 21. The other teams will choose different circuits for testing during the same period. Finally, between February 25 and 27, all teams will be in Barcelona with Bridgestone. »
« This is a period of intense activity for us, and many of our engineers will attend both the tests and the races. There are now fewer than 50 days before the start of the season at the Albert Park circuit in Australia. I am sure that by then we will see significant progress from the teams, » concluded Kobayashi.
Bridgestone will be in action next week in Barcelona, from February 1st to 3rd, where it will provide teams, for the first time this season, with hard tires.
