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Bridgestone on race at San Marino

Round thirteen of the 2013 MotoGP™ season sees the series return to Italy, with this weekend’s San Marino and Rimini Grand Prix taking place at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli as the fight for the championship intensifies.

Marc Marquez

Marc Marquez

Bridgestone

Wednesday 11 September 2013

At 4.064 kilometres in length, Misano features a tight, stop-and-go layout, with a series of corner sequences joined together by short straights. The most challenging part of the circuit is from turns eleven to fourteen, starting with the flat-out Curvone which sweeps into progressively tighter right-hand corners that demand maximum commitment from the riders and good stability and grip from the tyres. The circuit requires good cornering feel but also strong acceleration and braking performance, so an optimal bike setup is important to get the best out of the tyres and to maintain a quick pace.

Overall, Misano is not overly demanding on tyres although the compound selection has to provide the best combination of grip, durability and heat-resistance as tyres spend a lot of time at large lean angles. With ten right-hand turns compared to just six left-hand turns, asymmetric slicks with harder rubber on the right shoulder are supplied. The rear slick compounds for the CRT riders are the soft and medium options, while the works riders have access to the medium and hard rear slicks. The front slick options at Misano are the medium and hard compounds.

Marc Marquez
Marc Marquez

Photo by: Bridgestone

The main wet tyre at Misano is the hard compound wet tyre, as the layout and tarmac of the circuit can cause high wear in wet conditions. All riders will have also have access to two front and two rear tyres in the alternative, soft wet tyre if cold and wet conditions are encountered.

Hiroshi Yamada - Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
“Following the recent run of three back-to-back races, we are now well into the second half of the championship and it has been a truly remarkable season so far. I am looking forward to Misano as this race has often been a turning point in the championship, as evidenced by last year’s race where Jorge’s victory was a key moment in him securing his second MotoGP title. Jorge and Marc have a good record at Misano and Dani is in good form having been on the podium at the last three races so with the championship fight still wide open, I hope we are in for yet another thrilling race. Apart from the race, there is also a MotoGP test at the circuit on Monday which will provide a chance for the participating teams to test their latest developments and it will also be an important event for Bridgestone, as we will be supplying some new experimental tyres for the riders to evaluate.”

Shinji Aoki - Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“The track surface at Misano is smooth and offers relatively low grip and it also has a twisting layout so the tyres spend a lot of time leant over. Ambient conditions for the San Marino Grand Prix are usually hot so harder compounds are selected to provide better durability and heat resistance. The sequence of right-handers starting with the fast Curvone corner is the section that puts the most strain on the tyres and this is where the rear tyres reach their greatest temperature, but generally the loads imposed on the centre, left and right shoulders are quite similar at this track. The front tyre requires a strong centre section to provide good stability in the frequent braking zones. A smooth riding style reaps benefits at Misano so as to not overwork the tyres as they have little opportunity to cool down during a lap due to the constant corners.”

Bridgestone MotoGP

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