Diversity in rear tyre selection a success at Mugello

Official MotoGP tyre supplier Bridgestone was highly satisfied with the performance of the two rear tyre options offered at a hot Gran Premio d’Italia TIM.

Bridgestone were extremely pleased with the results they saw at Mugello as the riders employed the widest variety of choice so far this season in terms of rear tyre selection for the race. Every rider opted for the hard front compound due to the hot conditions and hard braking demands, whilst seven went for the softer (medium) rear option and nine for the harder choice
This allowed a direct comparison to be made between the performance of the two rear specifications, and race winner Dani Pedrosa set a new circuit record of 1’49.531 on lap five on the harder rear slick during the 23-lap race.

“This is the second new lap record set on our tyres from the first four races of this season, which is an achievement I am proud of,” said Bridgestone Tyre Development Manager, Tohru Ubukata. “Although his best lap came on lap five, he also broke the lap record on only the fourth lap of the race which indicates good performance from the start. The new fastest total race time at this circuit demonstrates good consistency from our tyres over race distance.”

The number of riders using the softer rear option was also a show of confidence in the performance and durability of the slicks. “Casey and Marco Melandri were two of the riders to use the softer option rear, and they finished fourth and fifth which proves they were good over race distance,” continued Ubukata. “What’s more, Casey and Marco were also in a long battle with Randy de Puniet who used a hard rear tyre and all three riders did very similar lap times throughout.”

The diversity in rear tyre selection was down to the wider temperature operating range of both compounds, meaning both were able to deal with the demanding heat of the asphalt as the track temperature rose to 54ºC during the race. That left the riders to make their decisions based on a combination of riding style and machine set-up.

“Dani, Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso chose the hard compound rear because they could get good grip from it with their individual set-ups and it gave better stability because the rubber is stiffer,” explained Ubukata. “Casey and Marco, for example, chose the softer option rear because it gave more edge grip, and for their styles and set-ups durability was not a concern even with the high track temperature.”