Bridgestone all set for COTA race weekend

Bridgestone's Peter Baumgartner reviews COTA test

Thursday, 14 March 2013

Heading to Circuit of the Americas for the first time this week, Bridgestone’s sole aim was to determine tyre allocation ahead of MotoGP™’s first Grand Prix at the track.

The facility on the outskirts of Austin will welcome the sport for Round 2 of the 2013 season, staged next month after the Qatar season-opener.

"We had already had a one-day test here with some CRT guys," Peter Baumgartner, Tyre Engineer for the sole tyre supplier in the premier class, explains to motogp.com. "In that one we were able to pick up some baseline information; from that information we were able to prepare for this second test with Honda and Yamaha.

"We have brought a Medium-Softer spec and a Hard-Medium spec. Overall we have picked up good information to forward to Japan (Bridgestone headquarters). Our target is basically to pick up a lot of data to prepare the race allocation, which is the target of this test for us."

Despite this, the German is aware that conditions will vary by the time the sport returns to the Hermann Tilke-designed track for its maiden race event.

"We have to expect higher ambient temperatures and maybe higher track temperatures," Baumgartner continues. "Overall, from the information we have picked up and the direction we have already, we are prepared for a race weekend. Front and rear, we are balanced and have good information. For the rear, we have the asymmetric option and for the moment it looks like we’ll be keeping that. We may get requests from riders to go a bit softer or change something with the symmetry, so we will forward all of the information to Japan and consider it, then speak to the riders again in Jerez."

The fourth and final Official Pre-Season MotoGP™ test will take place at Jerez from next Saturday; once in southern Spain, Bridgestone will commit to its tyre choices for Austin.