From a press release issued by Bridgestone:

Historic Double Podium for Bridgestone:

Magic Makoto Wins, Super Shinya Storms to Third

Camel Honda star Makoto Tamada and Kawasaki’s hero Shinya Nakano celebrated their finest hour at their home Grand Prix today, with Tamada beating world champion Valentino Rossi to take victory in front of 68000 ecstatic fans, and with Nakano storming to the first ever podium finish of his Kawasaki Racing Team. The greatest personal triumph in the MotoGP careers of the two Japanese idols meant also a historic success in the three-year old MotoGP campaign of Japanese tire manufacturer Bridgestone, who came to the Japanese Grand Prix with tailor-made tires in order to suit the special stop-and-go characteristics of the Motegi track. Magic Makoto started to show his supremacy in final practice, when he took pole position with a devastatingly fast lap that put him on top of the list by more than half a second. He also marked a new lap record in the race, pulling away from Valentino Rossi with outstanding consistency.

“Makoto was unbeatable. Even towards the end of the race, he had tire grip like on the first lap,” commented the world champion.

Shinya Nakano’s performance was equally impressive, as he pushed his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR to limits that nobody had ever seen before. After running in fourth place for most of the race, he passed Yamaha rider Marco Melandri six laps from the end, making sure of his first ever MotoGP podium.

Managing to avoid the first-corner incident with six riders involved was one of the key factors in the success of Tamada and Nakano. Not so lucky were both Suzuki riders: John Hopkins, who had been on provisional pole position on Friday, was taken out by Ducati star Loris Capirossi, and broke two ribs in his crash. His team-mate Kenny Roberts was one of the riders who couldnít avoid the bikes on the track, and badly dislocated his left elbow.

Makoto Tamada, Camel Honda Race Winner
“When we got to the first corner in the race, I saw everybody else pushing towards the inside, and I thought there was no way all these guys can brake in time to make the first corner. Sure enough, a big crash happened, and I was lucky enough to stay well clear of the mess. Without this accident, I would probably have been much further back in the field, but instead, I found myself in second position. My tires were really good, so after a few laps I decided to take a chance and get ahead of Valentino. It maybe helped that Valentino is thinking of the championship and that he probably didnít risk everything for this victory. But the most important factor today were my Bridgestone tires. Until the end of the free practice session this morning, we werenít quite sure of which compound to use, but when we finally saw that the track temperature was going to be higher today, we went for a slightly harder compound which turned out to be perfect!”

Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki Racing Team, 3rd position

“A fantastic result for Kawasaki, for Bridgestone and for myself! It’s been such a long time that I havenít been on the podium that I can’t even remember when it was. I looked at my pit board every lap, because I simply couldn’t believe that I was running in third place. I saw many green flags around the track which was especially exciting and motivating for me, and I definitely had an advantage with my Bridgestone tires. At first, I could just follow Melandri but not overtake. But towards the end of the race, when I passed him at the end of the back straight, his bike had started to move around and look a bit nervous, whereas my tire grip was still as good as at the beginning of the race. Avoiding the first-lap accident was crucial: I know from experience how tight the first corner is, and managed to stay on the inside out of trouble!”

Shigeo Watanabe, President Bridgestone Corporation

“I would like to congratulate Mr. Tamada on his spectacular victory today, and also Mr. Nakano for finishing in an amazing third place. By winning at home in Japan, I believe all who came to Motegi and all fans of Bridgestone riders are pleased with today’s result. We are extremely proud that the riders using our tires are achieving great results in the top category of motorcycle racing, and we will continue to strive for further success!”

Hiroshi Yamada – Motorcycle Racing Manager Bridgestone Motorsport

“It was very special day today for us. We had 380 guests here on a special Bridgestone grandstand, and another 70 staff members from our head office and our factory. To celebrate our first double podium with them and with all the fans around the track is simply fantastic. We congratulate Makoto to his sweetest victory ever, and we congratulate Shinya and Kawasaki Racing to their maiden podium, which has been our second target this year, apart from winning races with Camel Honda. This weekend was remarkable in other ways as well: We took our third pole position of this season, and we had two Bridgestone riders on the front row for the very first time. Other teams and riders are now recognizing how competitive we have become in less than three years of MotoGP racing, and have asked for a future cooperation. We plan to further increase our effort as well as explore our options for supporting MotoGP teams next season!”

Bridgestone Results:

1. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Honda, 43.43,220.

3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 43.56,616.

10. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki, 44.39,327.

DNF: John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, Kenny Roberts (USA) Suzuki