Bridgestone riders confident for tight and twisty Estoril After celebrating a strong fifth place with Kawasaki star Shinya Nakano in the season-opening Grand Prix of Spain in Jerez, Japanese tyre giant Bridgestone is looking forward to even better results at the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril this weekend. Located close to the ocean in the north-west of Lisbon, just besides the famous seaside resort towns of Cascais and Estoril, the Portuguese circuit is the slowest track on the MotoGP calendar. Various hairpins and a tight and twisty up-hill chicane outweigh the one-kilometre-long main straight, and a well-balanced chassis for precise steering, easy handling and good feedback counts more than sheer horsepower. Besides general corner grip and durability for the nine right hand corners, traction for the crucial last and fast bend before the main straight is one of the basic requirements when it comes to tyre choice. Fine-adjusting all parameters on short notice is another art in Estoril. Fast and unexpected weather changes make the conditions on the bumpy and not very grippy surface hard to predict, with the right suspension set-up and the right tyre choice always being the decision of a moment. Relentless ocean winds make for an additional challenge, and it is remarkable that Bridgestone, a relative newcomer to MotoGP racing, overcame all obstacles with pole position and a second place in last year’s race. For this year’s Portugal Grand Prix, the expectations are high again, considering the similarity in track characteristics between Estoril and Jerez. “We are basically going to ride with the same tyres that we used in Jerez”, explains Shinya Nakano. “The speed is only averaging 154 kph, which should help us, too. Even though the set-up of our big-bang engine is getting better every time, there is still a slight lack of top speed. It’s good for us to be on one of the slower tracks again.” For the Portuguese Grand Prix, approximately 700 Bridgestone tyres have been shipped in from the factory in Tokyo. Modified constructions and new compounds compared to the 2004 tyre generation mean more grip, better handling and durability, “We have good reason to be confident”, says Nakano’s German team-mate Alex Hofmann, who had finished 11th in Jerez. Hiroshi Yamada – Motorcycle Racing Manager Bridgestone Motorsport “Shinya Nakano placed an excellent fifth in the season-opening round at Jerez, which was a better result for Bridgestone than at last year’s opener, and which boosts our confidence for the future. I am relieved to know that our pre-season tyre development program was a success, as we saw Shinya’s lap times being consistent throughout the whole race. Last year in Estoril, our top two riders placed 2nd and 6th, so we know that our tyres work well on this circuit. This year’s three Bridgestone teams, with Kawasaki currently leading the charge, are aiming even higher. Ducati and Suzuki are working hard to overcome the unexpected difficulties they had in Jerez, and I am confident that they will bounce back with strong results here in Estoril!”