Bridgestone testing roundup - 19th February 13:45pm GMT

Bridgestone Motorsport’s pre-season testing is almost at an end and with the first round of the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship taking place in approximately two weeks, Bridgestone is narrowing down its specifications for the coming season. Last week’s Jerez test (8–11 February) and this week’s Barcelona test (15-18 February) were spent on an intensive tyre construction and compound programme where the challenge of finding the ultimate combination of a durable, safe and fast tyre continued under the expert eye of Bridgestone’s Technical Manager Hisao Suganuma.

Commenting after the tests, Suganuma said, “We have had two very productive dry tyre tests in Spain where the weather enabled us to get some good long distance runs in, providing us with plenty of data. The aim this year is to make sure that our teams are able to make the most of their tyres and not have to worry about whether or not they will last. Ideally they will need a consistent tyre. The new regulations this year dictate that one set of tyres must be used for qualifying and an entire race, which means that tyres with performance peaks and troughs are not desirable. We saw last year in fact, that consistency is a performance characteristic of Bridgestone’s tyres so we already had a good base line for our test programme. I am encouraged by our work and we are nearing the point of making our final tyre choice decisions with the teams. However, we do have time before departing for Melbourne so we shall be making the most of it.”

Bridgestone moves on to Valencia next Monday (21 February) where all the separate elements of Bridgestone’s tyre programme (shape, construction and compound) will be brought together, enabling Ferrari and Bridgestone to finalise the tyre selections for the forthcoming Australian GP. Jordan Grand Prix, meanwhile, will be confirming its tyre selection with Bridgestone at Silverstone in the UK and the Minardi Formula One team has its final outing before Melbourne today (19 February) at the Italian circuit of Imola.

In addition to the dry tyre programme, however, Bridgestone has also been careful to progress its wet tyre development and earlier this week (Monday 14 February) spent a day at Valencia conducting a wet tyre test with Michael Schumacher at the wheel of an F2004 M. Conducted on an artificially wet surface, Suganuma was pleased with the day’s progress commenting: “This week’s wet test was a very productive and efficient one and we now have a good indication of our 2005 wet tyre specification. Michael was able to conduct both short and long runs and we’re happy with the outcome. Obviously the conditions were artificial and we will want to confirm the results in naturally wet conditions. However, wet weather testing is important as it is one of the areas where Bridgestone has been particularly strong for some years and it is crucial that we maintain that advantage.”