This year’s MotoGP season saw Bridgestone tasked with being the official tyre supplier to the World Championship, and it was a successful one for the manufacturer.
Increasing their supply from seven teams and a total of 13 riders by the end of the previous year to the whole of the class in 2009, Bridgestone enjoyed seeing five different race winners throughout the campaign on their tyres.
A first MotoGP win for Andrea Dovizioso and a first on Bridgestone tyres for both Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, combined with 11 different riders finishing on the podium made for an exciting season, and Yasukawa gave his thoughts on the year.
“The 2009 season was an important one for us because it marked our move to the single tyre supplier in MotoGP, having only entered the sport in 2002,” said Yasukawa. “The challenges for Bridgestone this year were very different as it was our first in MotoGP without tyre competition. In the past our objective was to provide tyres that allowed the riders using them to be faster than the competition, whereas this year our role was much more involved, providing not just tyres but support to every team and rider in the series.”
“We have seen some thrilling racing, and our appointment as the sole tyre supplier has been well received by teams, riders and of course Dorna and the FIM, for which I would like to thank them all. Casey Stoner’s victory at the Australian Grand Prix this year also marked the 50th premier class win on our tyres from the 133 Grands Prix we had competed in by that point in the season.”
Yasukawa concluded, “The economic climate has changed this year but MotoGP remains very valuable to the Bridgestone brand worldwide for the exposure it affords us and the platform it gives us to demonstrate our technical expertise. With our existing agreement with Dorna we are committed to supporting the series as the official tyre supplier for the next two seasons, and I think this reflects the value of MotoGP to Bridgestone Corporation.”