Why is the Suzuka 8-Hours dominated by Bridgestone tires? During last year’s edition, Michael Laverty and Sylvain Guintoli sat down with Asphalt & Rubber to explain why Bridgestone is the preferred tire of choice at Suzuka.
Even the most talkative factory riders get tight lipped when the topic of tires is raised. After taking nine tenths of a second off the unofficial lap record, Jonathan Rea was asked to compare the feeling with Bridgestone tires compared to the Pirelli rubber used in WorldSBK.
The triple world champion side-stepped that landmine with customary ease by saying “they’re both very high performance tires.”
There are however some outliers in the Suzuka paddock. Some riders are able and, most importantly, willing to talk on the record about the brands. Only a handful of riders have experience with different tire brands, including the Michelin MotoGP tires, and even fewer have the freedom to speak about the contrasts.
Both Michael Laverty and Sylvain Guintoli however have that experience of the three brands (Bridgestone, Michelin, and Pirelli). Going back to the early days of Michelin’s return to MotoGP, Michael Laverty, then Aprilia’s MotoGP test rider, helped the French manufacturer define their initial batches of tires.
Speaking about the contrast between the Bridgestone-shod front-runners at the Suzuka 8-Hours and bikes using Pirelli tires, such as the BMW that the Northern Irishman raced 12 months ago, he offered his thoughts on the differences in riding styles that comes from the rubber underneath you.
“The biggest difference is the drop off in lap time with a Pirelli is significant. In the hotter temperatures at Suzuka, it’s quite difficult to mange that,” said Laverty. “In Europe the temperature isn’t quite as hot so you can compete. Here in Japan, it’s so hot and you can hammer a Bridgestone.”
“The harder you work a Bridgestone front tire the better it performs, you can spin a rear tire for a full 27-lap stint and it doesn’t drop off the pace. We have to contend with a big drop off on the Pirelli, and we’re spinning a lot here and at the front, in these temperatures, it’s a good tire, but I know what the Bridgestone is like from MotoGP and it’s a bit firmer in the heat.”
The fabled Bridgestone front tire, otherwise known as “the one that got away” for riders forced to ride another brand of tires, is world renowned for the confidence it inspires. When Michelin first returned to MotoGP in 2016 riders lamented the loss of this tire from their lives.
The Bridgestone front tire is unlike any other. Black, round, and full of rubber doesn’t describe it at all. It is very rigid and keeps its position very well. It generates confidence under braking with that stability, and it allow riders to set the corner up as early as possible.
From entering the braking zone to releasing the brake, it allows riders to be smoother because you don’t feel as much of a transition from one phase to the next of the corner, especially as the bike loads.
“The way in which a Bridgestone steers when the rear is sliding is incredibly impressive,” continued Laverty. “Looking at Dunlop Curve, for example, the Bridgestone riders can spin it up towards the grass and we’re three meters wider through there.”
“No matter what I do on the bike, I can’t get it to turn to that point on the track. That’s what you can do with a Bridgestone. It’s a different riding style with these tires.”
For Guintoli the challenge of the different brands of tires has been huge in recent years. For example in 2017, he was riding full-time in the British Superbike championship on Pirelli tires, with minimal electronics, and his experience of the Italian tire was of little help because the specification of machinery and the layout of tracks was so different.
In addition to this he raced and tested for the Suzuki MotoGP squad on Michelin tires and rode at Suzuka with his Bridgestone-shod Suzuki. This year the former WorldSBK champion is a full-time MotoGP test rider and racing at Suzuka once again for Yoshimura Suzuki.
“All three tires are really good and they’ve all got their own strengths and weaknesses,” said the Frenchman. “You need to get the best out of each of them and they’re all different for this.”
“Certain tires require certain riding techniques, and of course they all feel different to one another but also most tires feel different. Even within the same tire brand you can have a different feeling with a different compound or construction of tire.”
“2017 was really interesting for me because I rode Pirelli’s in British Superbike, Bridgestone’s for Suzuki at Suzuka, and I also rode Michelin’s in MotoGP. Some of them work better in the cold, some in the hot, so you have a lot to think about when you’re riding.”
“You ride every tire based on the feeling from them, and of course for a pure riding performance, it’s always better to ride only one tire because you can concentrate on how to get the most from it.”
“I think it’s really good to experience such a wide range of tire and regulations – BSB with Pirelli’s and no electronics, WorldSBK with Pirelli and electronics, Bridgestone with an endurance bike, and Michelin with a MotoGP bike. They all work differently with the different specification of bike too ,so it’s been interesting for me to do this much riding with them.”
The Bridgestone tire used at Suzuka is very similar to that used in MotoGP in 2015, the Pirelli is similar in feeling to their WorldSBK offering.
The Italian firm is keen to increase their footing in the FIM Endurance World Championship, but they understand that breaking the Bridgestone monopoly at the front of the Suzuka 8-Hours field will be almost impossible.
The experience of the Japanese manufacturers around the Japanese circuit with Japanese tires is simply too much to overcome in the near future…for now.
Photo: © 2018 Steve English – All Rights Reserved
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