The 2009 MotoGP season was the first for Bridgestone as the
series’ Official Tyre Supplier. This meant that rather than supporting seven
teams and a total of thirteen riders by the end of last year, Bridgestone
supplied tyres and provided support to every team and rider on the grid. In
total there were five race-winners, including the first MotoGP win for Andrea
Dovizioso and the first on Bridgestone tyres for Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa,
and eleven different riders finished on the podium. The World Championship was
won by Valentino Rossi and the Fiat Yamaha Team at the Malaysian Grand Prix,
the penultimate round of the season.
Q&A with Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport
How can you summarise the
first year for Bridgestone as MotoGP’s official tyre supplier?
“The challenges for Bridgestone this year were very
different as it was our first in MotoGP without tyre competition. We miss the
tyre competition and the lack of it does make it more of a challenge for us,
but it presents new opportunities. In the past our objective was to provide
tyres that allowed the riders using them to be faster than the competition,
whereas this year our role was much more involved, providing not just tyres but
support to every team and rider in the series.
“Whilst we had experience of working closely with all the
involved motorcycle manufacturers in the past, adapting our infrastructure to fulfil
our commitment as the Official Tyre Supplier was the first challenge,
especially given the time frame we had in which to do so. Nevertheless we were
ready for the start of the season, and I am proud of that achievement and of
everything we have accomplished since. We have seen some thrilling racing, and
our appointment as the sole tyre supplier has been well received by teams,
riders and of course Dorna and the FIM, for which I would like to thank them
all.”
This was a significant
year for Bridgestone in the company’s MotoGP history
“The 2009 season was an important one for us because it
marked our move to the single tyre supplier in MotoGP having only entered the sport
in 2002. I am proud of the dedication and commitment that the whole team has shown
to rise to this level so rapidly, and I also sincerely thank the support of
everyone we have received during this time. Of course when we first started it
was not easy but we worked hard to get it right, and I am very pleased that all
that work has resulted in our current situation. Casey Stoner’s victory at the
Australian Grand Prix this year also marked the 50th premier class
win on our tyres from the 133 grands prix we had competed in by that point in the
season. Importantly for us, 70 per cent of these wins came during the years of
tyre competition before 2009.”
How important is
MotoGP for Bridgestone?
“The economic climate has changed this year but MotoGP
remains very valuable to the Bridgestone brand worldwide for the exposure it
affords us and the platform it gives us to demonstrate our technical expertise.
A significant proportion of motorcycle tyre sales are based upon perceived
performance of the manufacturer, and our participation in MotoGP over the years
has allowed us to both develop the performance of our products alongside some
of the sport’s greatest riders and communicate this worldwide.
“For our sales companies MotoGP is also a very important
platform to engage with key customers and our involvement in the sport allows
them to access premier sporting events in their markets. Bridgestone promotes
road safety campaigns such as Make Cars Green and Think Before You Drive
together with the FIA, and one of our objectives is to promote such activities
more through MotoGP in coming seasons. With our existing agreement with Dorna
we are committed to supporting the series as the Official Tyre Supplier for the
next two seasons, and I think this reflects the value of MotoGP to Bridgestone
Corporation.”
“We miss the
tyre competition and the lack of it did make this season more of a challenge for us,
but it also presented new opportunities"