Bridgestone Debrief: Portuguese Grand Prix

Jorge Lorenzo reasserted his dominance of the 2010 season today with a convincing win from pole position, ahead of Fiat Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi. After two days of torrential rain and high winds, race day provided the first dry running of the weekend after the day’s only rain was a brief downpour in the morning before the warm-up session.

By the race start the track was dry, helped by the wind and sun. Every rider used the softer option rear slick tyre, which incorporates extra soft compound rubber in its left shoulder, but front tyre choices were more mixed with six riders choosing the softer option and the rest of the field favouring the greater stability of the harder option.

The race was the first dry track time the riders had and the first time Bridgestone’s slicks had been used all weekend and so teams relied on setup data from previous years. Seven of the top eight riders used the harder option front and softer option rear, with fifth-placed Nicky Hayden the top rider to have chosen the softer front.

Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director, Bridgestone Motorsport said:
“Congratulations today to Jorge and the Fiat Yamaha Team for their remarkable eighth victory this season and for sealing the Constructors’ title. It was a very tough weekend for all the riders because of the weather but we were able to see some very exciting battles which is important to us. We invited many guests including top management from Europe as MotoGP is a very good business tool for our company, and has a strong impact and image with spectators. We are proud to be a part of this and to use it to showcase our technology and communicate our passion for excellence to a worldwide audience.”

Tohru Ubukata, Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department said:
“Today was a very difficult race for everyone. The circuit was very slippery at the start because there had been no dry running all weekend. Track conditions were very bad and the teams had no time to set their bikes up in the dry, both of which mean a very hard situation for tyres, but still our slick tyres worked well from start to finish so I am very happy. I am also satisfied with our compound choice because we had no problems with warm-up even in these damp conditions.”

Source: Bridgestone Motorsport