Bridgestone have added two new tires to their 2015 allocation, in response to developments in 2014. A new extra-hard rear will be made available at a few of the more abrasive circuits on the calendar, while the asymmetric front, debuted at Phillip Island last year, will also be available at more tracks.
Two new tires means two new color codings, to distinguish them from the existing allocation of tires. The extra hard rear will carry a yellow stripe around the side, while the asymmetric front will be indentifiable by a light blue band on the sidewall.
The existing color codings for the remainder of the tires remain unchanged, as shown in the tire chart and table below.
The extra hard tire is to be introduced in Argentina for the first time, where the circuit proved to be tough on tires. Both Argentina and Indianapolis are extremely abrasive, and placed heavy demands on the hard compound rear tire. Whether all the riders will use the extra hard at the circuits remains to be seen.
On the three occasions when riders could use the harder of the two compounds, only Marc Márquez and Dani Pedrosa selected the harder tire, the rest of the field having chosen the softer option.
As Ducati, Suzuki and Aprilia all have the so-called Factory 2 concessions (softer rear tires, more fuel, more engines, free testing and development), they will not have the tire available to them at all.
The asymmetric front tire will see more use. Trialed at Phillip Island last year, reception of the tire was mixed, though this was more due to the temperature dropping rapidly halfway through the race.
Under more consistent temperatures, the asymmetric front should help at circults like Phillip Island which heavily favor one side of the tire.
The biggest difference could be seen at the Sachsenring, where a lot of riders get caught out by Turn 12, the first right hander after a series of lefts. Turn 12 is very fast, off camber and over a crest, and grip is at a premium.
Source: Bridgestone
This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.
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