Sepang 2 Test – Bridgestone review
Bridgestone slick compounds: Front: Medium & Hard. Rear: Soft (Symmetric), Medium (Asymmetric) & Medium (Symmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Hard
Weather: Dry/Wet. Ambient 27-35°C; Track 34-60°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez signed off the second Sepang test with the quickest overall time as the reigning MotoGP™ champion clocked a 1’59.115 on the final day of action to once again set the pace in pre-season testing.
In what has become a familiar scene during testing, the morning of the third day was used by the riders to push for a quick lap time before the oppressive tropical heat reduces grip levels later in the day. On his thirteenth lap of the morning, Marquez set a benchmark time that was 0.322 seconds clear of his closest rival, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo. Third quickest overall was CWM LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow, whose best effort was a 1’59.658.
A total of twenty-seven riders took part in the second MotoGP group test of 2015; the twenty-five full time riders plus two test riders, Ducati’s Michele Pirro and Yamaha’s Katsuyuki Nakasuga. The riders completed a total of 3811 laps (21,224 kilometres) on Bridgestone tyres over the three days, 618 less than completed in the first test. The gap in lap time from the quickest to slowest rider at the second Sepang test was 4.454 seconds.
Conditions over the three days at Sepang were generally fine and very hot, with rain interrupting the afternoon of the first day. The heat intensified on the final day, with a peak track temperature of 60°C recorded at 1400 local time, the highest figure recorded at the Malaysian circuit in years.
With the well-worn Sepang circuit offering little grip, the riders preferred to use softer rubber compounds over the three days. The most popular tyre were the symmetric soft and asymmetric medium compound rear slicks, and the medium compound front slick. Over the course of the two MotoGP group tests at Sepang, the general consensus of the riders is that Bridgestone’s latest race tyres offer improved, consistent performance with high levels of feel and usability.
Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“Over the last three days we’ve had quite extreme conditions but our tyre allocation enabled the riders to lap at a quick and consistent pace. The rain on day one of the test gave the riders the chance to work on their wet set up and it also provided the rookie riders a valuable opportunity to sample our wet tyres. Following on the good feedback we received at the first Sepang test, the riders were again happy with the performance of our 2015 specification tyres and we were able to collect some good information that we can use adjust our tyre allocation for this season. We have just concluded two successful tests at Sepang and I am now looking forward to a productive test at Qatar next month.”
Source: Bridgestone Motorsport
