Bridgestone choose Estoril as private test track
Monday, 31 March 2008
Bridgestone riders returned to the Jerez podium for the first time since 2006, courtesy of Valentino Rossi´s second place finish in the Gran Premio bwin.com de España.
Bridgestone riders returned to the Jerez podium for the first time since 2006, courtesy of Valentino Rossi´s second place finish in the Gran Premio bwin.com de España. However, the race was a tricky one for the Japanese tyre manufacturer, with Jerez typically a Michelin circuit.
The next venue on the MotoGP calendar is Estoril –another track at which Bridgestone have not had the best of times- and in order to counteract this the brand have chosen the Portuguese track as their official test circuit.
`We picked Estoril because it has a good layout and a mix of high-low speed corners and a long straight,´ said Tohru Ubukata from the fabricant. `It´s also been a difficult track for us since we joined MotoGP.´
The first test for Bridgestone at the circuit comes after April´s Grande Premio bwin.com de Portugal, in the immediate post-race sessions. Following that, Ducati and Kawasaki test riders Niccola Canepa and Olivier Jacque will be putting the rubber through its paces in a private test.
