Bridgestone completed a successful three-day tyre test at Phillip Island, as the Official Tyre Supplier to MotoG met its objective of testing a range of new rear slick tyres to deliver safety, performance and durability for a full race-distance at the Australian Grand Prix in October.
Bridgestone brought two front and eight rear specifications of slick tyre to the test, with six of the rear slick specifications being brand new test tyres developed specifically for the Phillip Island circuit.
Five riders; Ducati‰Ûªs Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow, Repsol Honda‰Ûªs Dani Pedrosa, and Yamaha Factory Racing‰Ûªs Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi took part in the three-day test, completing a total of 861 laps.
The experimental rear slicks provided for the tyre test featured developments in compound, construction and profile technology in order to find the optimum solution for a circuit that is the toughest on rear tyres on the whole MotoGP calendar. The first day of the test was used for initial testing of all six experimental tyres; the second and third days of the test were dedicated to race simulations on the tyres that were more found to be more suitable following analysis of tyre data and rider feedback.
Out of the six experimental rear slicks provided, three specifications proved to be more promising both in terms of durability, performance, and rider feedback. These three rear slick options were tested extensively over the final two days of the test and the further positive rider feedback and data analysis acquired on these three options on the final two days means that they will form the basis of tyre development for the Australian Grand Prix in October.
The weather at Phillip Island was changeable over the three days, allowing Bridgestone to acquire tyre performance data in a wide variety of conditions.
