Sepang, Malaysia – Pre-season test Thursday 25 – Friday 26 February 2010

Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Hard, Extra Hard.    Rear: Medium, Hard

New slick tyres tested: Front: Hard future developmental spec.    Rear: Medium 2010 specification

Weather: Thu: Dry, Fri: Dry. Ambient 29-34°C; Track  42-52°C

During the two day test at the Sepang circuit, Bridgestone introduced two new specifications of slick tyre for testing and  development  purposes.  In  addition  to  the  normal  two  day  test  allocation,  each  rider  received  one  medium compound rear slick tyre that will replace last year’s version for this season, and one developmental specification front slick tyre which will help determine the future direction of Bridgestone’s tyre technology.

Every rider used the new rear slick tyre with the exception of San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Simoncelli, who fell on Friday before he got the chance to try the new specification.

Amid limited testing, it was an important opportunity for teams  and  riders  to  test  the  new  tyre  before  its  race  debut,  and  the  feedback was  very  positive  with  reports  of improved edge grip and consistency.

By  contrast,  the  new  hard  compound  front  slick  tyre  was  an  experimental  test  intended  to  direct  Bridgestone’s fundamental development of future compound technology. One tyre was provided for every rider, but it was tested on-track  by  Fiat  Yamaha’s  Valentino  Rossi,  Monster  Yamaha  Tech3’s  Colin  Edwards,  Repsol  Honda’s  Andrea Dovizioso,  and Rizla Suzuki’s  Loris Capirossi and Alvaro  Bautista,  all of whom recorded a significant amount  of important data for Bridgestone.

Tohru Ubukata – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department

“This  was  a  very  valuable  test  for  us  as  we  were  able  to  introduce  and  collect  good  feedback  from  two  new specifications of tyre. The front tyre test especially was a very good study for our future development. I would like to thank all the teams and riders for being so wiling in their support and playing a crucial role in our tyre development.

“Both days of the test were dry and so the conditions improved throughout the two days. Our new medium compound rear tyre was used by most teams on the second day, and it was then that the times were fastest. Valentino recorded the best time, 0.3seconds faster than his qualifying record from last year and 0.7seconds faster than his best time at the previous Sepang test. The performance of our new rear tyre is even better than last year’s medium compound rear in terms of operating range, consistency and edge grip, and I am very confident about using it this season."