Bridgestone has been at the fore-front of innovation and development in motor sport since making its racing debut at the first Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka in 1963. Motor sport is now a crucial arena for expressing Bridgestone's corporate identity on a global level.

The tyres supplied by Bridgestone for that first race were ordinary motor car tyres but within three years Bridgestone had developed a racing tyre and began its bold climb towards the summit of motor sport.

The 1970's was an era of rapid economic growth for Japan and the domestic motor racing scene grew just as spectacularly. Bridgestone soon provided tyres in many categories, using motor racing to promote sales of products.
 
Europe became the next target. Bridgestone entered the F2 series, the category below F1, in 1981 and incredibly monopolised the front row of the grid in the very first race. Bridgestone's first victory came in the next race and a magnificent maiden season was capped when a driver running on Bridgestone tyres won the title. This European success was a major contribution in POTENZA becoming Japan's top brand of high-performance passenger car tyre.

AMG Mercedes-Benz recognised the superiority of Bridgestone racing tyres when choosing the company as its partner for the German Touring Car Championship (DTM). In 1992, the second year of competition, Bridgestone supplied the winning tyres. The AMG Mercedes-Benz team went on to claim two titles in a row in 1994 and 1995.  AMG then decided Bridgestone tyres were ideal for its passenger cars and when Bridgestone began competing in F1, this trust was the basis for its selection by the McLaren Mercedes-Benz team.
 
In the United States, meanwhile, the 1988 merger with Firestone provided an opportunity to compete again in the Indycar Series. In 1995, Bridgestone was behind Firestone's comeback to Indycar racing after a 21-year absence. Soon the victories were piling up and today Bridgestone is the one-make tyre supplier to the two top series competitions in American motor sports.

In 1995 then-Bridgestone President Yoichiro Kaizaki gave the go-ahead for the company's drive into F1. Bridgestone originally planned to begin competing in 1998 but development advanced so smoothly the schedule was brought forward to 1997. Four teams were supplied in the first year with Prost driver Olivier Panis scoring Bridgestone's first points with fifth in the first race.
    
Panis finished third in the second race and for the first time ever an F1 driver was wearing a red Bridgestone cap as he celebrated on the podium. The top teams were alerted to Bridgestone's abilities and in the second year McLaren-Mercedes and Benetton joined Bridgestone's existing partners.
    
The Bridgestone-McLaren combination quickly gained F1 supremacy with the Drivers' and Manufacturers' titles won in 1998. When Goodyear pulled out in 1999, Bridgestone became the sole supplier - a position it had never dreamed of. It lasted two years until the return of Michelin when the tyre development battle was resumed.
    
Bridgestone's domination continued with Ferrari, winning six successive Manufacturers' titles between 1999-2004 and five Drivers' titles in succession with Michael Schumacher. The German had begun his career in karts on Bridgestone tyres, perhaps destiny was at work.
 
Bridgestone's activities in motorbike racing began in the early 1980's with the All Japan Championship. The leap to the pinnacle of two-wheel racing - the Moto GP - was made in 2002.
 
In 2003, Bridgestone developed a new brand vision and established a brand message, "Passion for Excellence". Motor racing activity is firmly established as one component of Bridgestone's brand-building strategy as the company pursues glory on the race circuits of the world.