RACE
PREVIEW:
Bridgestone
GP2 series Imola race preview 15/04/2005
Bridgestone
Motorsport’s GP2 tyres are all set for their race debut at
Imola next weekend (22-24 April) when the new GP2 Series kicks off
with its first race of the season in San Marino. As
official tyre supplier to several Formula One teams including World
Champions Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, Bridgestone welcomed the opportunity
to become sole tyre supplier to the GP2 Series which is aiming to
be the last stepping stone to F1, for teams and drivers alike. Running
as a support race to the FIA Formula One World Championship, the
GP2 Series offers 24 talented young race drivers and their teams
the opportunity to demonstrate their potential not only in front
of the world’s public but also in front of Formula One’s
most influential players.
Since the series’
launch in July 2004, therefore, Bridgestone’s engineers have
been busy developing three dry weather specifications and an innovative
wet weather specification of tyre suited to the 600bhp Renault powered
cars. The drivers at recent tests at Paul Ricard in France and the
Circuit de Catalunya in Spain have been setting extremely close
and competitive times, suggesting that the young hotshots are already
getting to grips with the F1-style grooved tyres.
At least one
week prior to each race, Bridgestone will nominate which of the
dry tyre specifications ie. soft, medium or hard, is best suited
to the circuit characteristics and surface and all the drivers will
receive identical tyres. Bridgestone’s GP2 tyres will carry
an FIA barcode and tyres will be randomly allocated by the FIA.
The dry weather
specification nominated for the opening round in Imola next week
is the “medium compound” specification.
Bridgestone’s
GP2 tyres are based closely on their Formula 1 counterparts and
share common design philosophies and materials. They are also produced
in the same production factory in Tokyo, Japan as their F1 “big
brothers” before being sent to Bridgestone’s F1 headquarters
in Langley, UK. From the UK, the tyres will be sent across Europe
by truck. Once at the circuit, a team of Bridgestone tyre engineers
and fitters dedicated to GP2 will provide tyre services to each
of the 12 GP2 Series teams. |
