Bridgestone test review - 25th February 14:07pm GMT

In preparation for the first round of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship, Bridgestone Motorsport has this week completed its test programme to determine the final tyre construction specifications for the Bahrain Grand Prix, which takes place in little over two weeks time.

Kazuyuki Hamamura, Bridgestone Motorsport Test Operations Manager:
“This week’s Barcelona test was the final test for deciding the construction specifications for the first GP in Bahrain. Having concluded the data gathering our teams will now make their final decision in conjunction with Bridgestone. Over the winter we have been testing some new constructions and we are confident that they will debut in Bahrain. The new construction improves many aspects of the tyres, including grip and consistency, and this week our teams have been simulating race distances to determine the best specifications for the start of the season.”

Due to the cold conditions in Europe winter testing has not been ideal for compound work but Bridgestone has had the benefit of the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, where tyre programmes were run in temperatures far more indicative of the conditions that the teams will face at the start of the season. This data has been shared between the other Bridgestone teams: Panasonic Toyota Racing, WilliamsF1, MF1 Racing and Super Aguri.

Hamamura said: “The data from this test, which has been shared, is very useful for all our teams. This system has been a major improvement to our development this winter and has been working very well.

“In addition to our construction development we now have several options available for both the soft and hard compound positions for Bahrain and we are all looking forward to putting the various elements together with the packages and seeing their performances.” Hamamura concluded: “I hope that all our hard work and the work of our teams will be rewarded. You can never be 100 percent happy but we believe that it will be a very close, exciting and competitive season.”

As the days count down to the first race of the 2006 season, Bridgestone’s teams will make their final preparations next week with Ferrari expected to run at Mugello, Toyota and Williams at Valencia and MF1 Racing and Super Aguri at Silverstone.