Bridgestone proved its confidence after racing in the first-ever FIM Endurance World Championship race at Slovakia Ring four days ago, with results showing the pace and reliability of its Battlax motorcycle racing tyres.
The two teams supplied by Bridgestone which were YART Yamaha Official EWC Team and F.C.C. TSR Honda Team, were both outperformed competitors before technical issues caused them to drop down the field.
YART equipped with Bridgestone tyres nailed pole position right from the start of qualifying and then led the race for around five hours, before a chain adjuster issue lost the team three laps. They managed to finish 4th, narrowly missing its third consecutive EWC podium place.
TSR on Bridgestone tyres secured third position on the starting grid, set the fastest warm-up lap, posting a new track record in the process that battled YART for the lead early in the race, and recorded the fastest race lap time. Unfortunately, technical issues also forced TSR into the pits for unscheduled delays.
Nico Thuy, Head of Europe – Motorcycle at Bridgestone Europe summarised: “Bridgestone showed again what a difference tyres can make on the track. We are delighted that Bridgestone teams achieved P1 on the grid, fastest race lap and a new track record at Slovakia Ring. They certainly didn’t deserve the bad luck that followed. But that’s motorsport! Our focus is now on the grand finale of this EWC series at Suzuka in July.”
The YART team has now moved to 3rd place in the official FIM EWC standings, up from 13th place when Bridgestone joined the outfit early in 2017, and only 27 points behind the leader. With 45 points available for the winner at the 8 Hours of Suzuka on 30th July, the final race of the EWC season promises to be a thriller.
Bridgestone, the world’s largest tyre and rubber company, announced its return to top-tier motorcycle racing in February 2017, with its decision to supply two teams in the prestigious FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) series: Austrian-based YART Yamaha Official EWC Team, and the F.C.C. TSR Honda team.
The FIM EWC is a global championship competition that consists of five races; two in France and three in Germany, Slovakia and Japan. Currently the fourth race of the season, the 8 Hours of Slovakia Ring began in September 2016, and will end with the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race at Japan’s Suzuka Circuit on 30 July 2017.