Canadian GP - Bridgestone preview - 20th June 17:42pm GMT

Bridgestone Motorsport heads to Montreal this week with its sights firmly set on some good results at the forthcoming Canadian Grand Prix, round nine of the FIA Formula One World Championship. As part of the preparations for the double header of races coming up (Canada and U.S.A), Bridgestone’s teams have been testing at the Italian circuit of Monza and the French circuit of Paul Ricard.

Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Motorsport:
“The Canadian Grand Prix marks the half way point of the 2006 season. Bridgestone equipped teams have traditionally gone well in Montreal so we are looking forward to seeing our teams push hard over the next couple of weeks for podiums and points. Canada is also a particularly strong market for Bridgestone and I am delighted that our sales company there has a great marketing and promotional programme already in progress to really bring Formula One into the limelight. We have always received a great deal of support in Canada and it is a fantastic way to give something back to the fans.”

Tyres for Montreal – 4.361 km
The 2006 tyre regulations permit each driver seven sets of dry tyres, four sets of wet weather tyres and three sets of extreme wet weather tyres. Combined with the increased number of teams running with Bridgestone in 2006, approximately 1,200 Bridgestone Potenza Formula One tyres are being sent from the Technical Centre in Kodaira City, Tokyo, to Canada.

Montreal Preview with Hisao Suganuma Bridgestone Motorsport Technical Manager:
“The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is one of the fastest circuits on the F1 calendar with a relatively smooth track surface so three of our teams recently concentrated their testing efforts on the Monza and Paul Ricard tracks. Monza in particular is good for checking tyre construction durability due to its high speed nature. We gained some encouraging feedback from those tests and as a result we will be taking a combination of current and new tyre specifications. These specifications will be from the softer side of the compound range to suit the smooth surface. We will need to monitor closely the heat durability of the tyres because of the track’s high speed nature but we believe we have a good selection of specifications which will be competitive in Montreal.”

Canadian Grand Prix Open House Day
The Bridgestone brand is the official sponsor of Open House Day at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on Thursday, June 22, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Bridgestone Best Lite truck will be the first attraction racing fans see when they arrive at the site. A replica of Michael Schumacher’s 2004 Ferrari will also be on display. Employees from the Bridgestone Firestone factory in Joliette will be on hand next to the Best Lite truck to explain and demonstrate how a tyre is made.

Bridgestone Firestone Canada decorate the town ahead of Canadian GP As Montrealers prepare to welcome the Formula One teams and start the Canadian Grand Prix celebrations, the windows of downtown stores are already in F1 mode with the Bridgestone Decor Programme. It is the sixth consecutive year Bridgestone Firestone Canada Inc. (BFCA) has staged the programme.

BFCA provides stores, free of charge, with racing items such as flags, pennants, shirts and caps, mounted images of 2006 F1 teams and tyres to decorate their windows. A fashion-industry personality, Montreal designer Kevin Allwood of Nevik, is judging the displays of participating stores. The store with the most attractive window display will win a pair of three-day tickets in the F1 Restaurant’s Élite loge for the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix. More than 25 stores, mainly on Saint Catherine Street between Crescent and University, are among this year’s Bridgestone Décor Programme participants.

Bridgestone Firestone teams up with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Speed to promote Formula One racing
Bridgestone Firestone North America Tire, LLC (BFNT) has teamed up with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) to promote the United States Grand Prix (USGP) to race fans. The kick off for USGP race week activities will be a “Preview Party” presented by the Bridgestone brand celebrating the Canadian Grand Prix, which will be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday June 25.

The “Preview Party presented by Bridgestone” is free to the public. While the main event will be the viewing of the Grand Prix of Canada at 1:00 p.m. on the jumbo screens, there are special events planned throughout the day for race fans. Race fans will also have the opportunity to purchase tickets to the USGP which will run on July 2 the following weekend.

Formula One is truly a remarkable race series that we hope will grow in the United States,” said Phil Pacsi, Executive Director North American Consumer Tire Marketing, BFNT. During this event there will be activities for all ages including an IMS Road Course track drive-around, live entertainment, racing simulators, face painters, behind the scenes tours, door prizes and much more. “We’d like to thank the IMS for allowing us to open the speedway to race fans free of charge to enjoy all of these activities.”

In addition to the Preview Party, BFNT, IMS and SPEED have announced an interview and autograph session with Bridgestone shod Formula One drivers on Thursday June 29, Pit Walkabout Day. The Bridgestone autograph session will be held from noon to 3 p.m. and the stage interviews from 12.30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The sessions will feature a full range of Bridgestone F1 racing drivers. See www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com for updates.