British Grand Prix debrief with Tohru Ubukata Round 5: Great Britain GP Post-race debrief Silverstone, Tuesday 22 June 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard (asymmetric) The 2010 British Grand Prix was held at the newly refurbished Silverstone circuit, returning to the venue for the first time since 1986. The teams, riders and Bridgestone had no prior MotoGP testing at the venue, making it a new challenge for everyone. Jorge Lorenzo and the Fiat Yamaha found the best solution to take a dominant victory, ahead of Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso and Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Ben Spies, who scored his first MotoGP podium finish. Whilst Lorenzo pulled away at the front, the battle for the next two steps of the podium was an intense and hard-fought battle between four riders: Dovizioso, Spies, Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner. Q&A with Tohru Ubukata – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department What can you say about tyre performance this weekend? “I can say that I am happy with tyre performance after this weekend as the level of grip, wear rates and consistency were all acceptable. Tyre temperatures were ok, and certainly within the operating ranges of our slicks. In the cold conditions we saw over the weekend it took some laps to warm-up the tyres to their optimum temperature, but this is to be expected of race tyres even on an abrasive circuit like Silverstone. I can say that with the softer rear it took two laps for optimum warm-up on the right shoulder, and a little longer for the left side. During the warm-up procedure, the tyres behaved more progressively though even from very cold thanks to the abrasive track surface.” What are your impressions of the new Silverstone circuit? “Generally Silverstone is quite an abrasive circuit which generates a good level of grip. The track was dirty on Friday but cleaned throughout the weekend with every session. It is quite bumpy, and without these bumps I think that the laptimes would improve as the riders would be able to carry more corner speed in places without worrying about their bikes becoming unsettled, and this would in turn generate higher tyre temperatures and better grip.” Conditions during the weekend were cold. Were they cooler than expected? “No, we expected the temperature to be this cool. Even on a morning when the temperature was at its lowest, it was within our expected range. We have enough Formula One experience at Silverstone to know the conditions well, so they did not come as a surprise to us.” Are you happy with the tyre compounds that you selected for this grand prix? “Yes, I believe that we selected the best compounds for this grand prix, and that the weekend’s performances proved this. There was a good performance overlap between the two compounds which meant that some riders used the softer rear and some the harder rear during the race. We invested a lot of time and conducted very detailed research to make sure we got the tyre selection right for the weekend, carefully studying the track surface character and layout, and I am satisfied that we brought the correct tyre compounds to Silverstone.” More, from a press release issued by Brock’s Performance: Dayton, Ohio: Blessed with being a demon for details, road racer Nate “N8!” Kern rocked Virginia International Raceway (VIR) with two wins on his BST wheeled BMW in Sunday’s CCS Expert races. In his first weekend using BST carbon-fiber wheels on his BMW S 1000 RR, Kern won the CCS Expert Unlimited Superbike and Expert GTO races at VIR, confirming the multiple competitive advantages provided by BST wheels’ ultra-lightweight design. The Alpharetta, Georgia native, Kern, said, “Setting up the bike was easier than I thought it would be. What it took was more of changing my riding style than changing anything with the bike’s suspension. It takes half the muscle memory to turn the bike, so at first I was apexing too early. Once I got a feel for them their advantage was dramatic. The bike turns in much quicker, the steering is lighter, it accelerates faster, and it gets off the corners better. If I had to choose any one thing about the BST wheels advantage, I’d have to say the number-one thing is in how remarkably they transformed the bike in turning transitions. They’re unbelievable, they save a lot on fatigue, they don’t beat you up, and you’re not as tired at the end of a race.” Racing on VIR’s North Course, the same configuration used by the AMA, Kern won the 7-lap Unlimited Superbike and 14-lap GTO races, while adding a third- and fourth-place finish to his total, in two races cut short by red flags. Robbed of the chance to improve on his positions in those races, Kern is looking forward to his next event at Roebling Road, the second weekend in July. At this event, Kern’s BMW S 1000 RR leading sponsors were BMW Motorrad USA, BMW Motorcycles of Atlanta, Morton’s BMW, and Brock’s Performance, exclusive U.S. distributor of BST wheels. Kern added, “Going into this event I wanted to protect my points in the classes I’m leading, so I planned on riding conservatively and only taking a win if it presented itself. Well, twice I found myself accepting what was there. In the other races, I had a bad start in one and worked my way up to fourth, and in the other I was battling for the lead until I clipped one of VIR’s infamous curbing, which nearly ripped me off the bike. But these wheels certainly did their part. I can see that they’ll quickly pay for themselves.” About Brock’s Performance: Brock’s Performance leads the way in sportbike innovation for acceleration addicts. From exhaust systems to wheels, this championship-winning company designs, builds and sells more than 3000 products that make it easier and safer for racers and street riders to reach record-breaking results through a never-ending process of research, development and track testing. For more information about BST wheels and other Brock’s Performance parts, go to BrocksPerformance.com. About BST: Based near Johannesburg, South Africa, BST engineers and manufactures the world’s finest carbon fiber motorcycle components–from wheels and frames to fuel tanks and fenders–to the highest international standards. On the world stage, BST wheels have been proven at every level of FIM Grand Prix road racing competition and have won 12 national championships. For more information about BST wheels, visit BlackstoneTek.com. More, from a press release issued by Tim Reeves’ publicist: Reeves gives Honda first World Sidecar victory Tim Reeves got his World Sidecar Championship title challenge back on track at the weekend when he took first and second place finishes in the two races at Rijeka, Croatia. The results not only elevated Tim up to 2nd overall in the Championship but also gave passenger Gregory Cluze and Honda their first wins in the class, a fantastic achievement for the team. Despite using a set of old tyres for qualifying, Tim placed second on the grid and was confident that, come the race, fresh rubber would allow him to close the gap to the pole position duo of Pekka Paivarinta and Adolf Hanni. Sure enough, in Saturday’s 11-lap ‘Sprint’ race, Tim and Gregory sat right in the wheeltracks of the Finnish/Swiss pairing and, with the fastest lap of the race, were ready to make a challenge for the lead in the final third of the race when a stone got flicked up by Paivarinta’s outfit and struck Tim in the neck. With a deep cut inflicted, he also found himself struggling for breath for half a lap and that was enough to allow Paivarinta to escape. So, Tim and Gregory had to settle for second place and 20 points, albeit only 4.3 seconds adrift. The 20 lap ‘Gold’ race on Sunday was held in vastly different conditions with heavy rain hitting the Croatian circuit throughout the day. However, the circuit conditions played in to Tim’s hands and he took full advantage, leading the race from the off. Paivarinta did get by in the first third of the race and led for a handful of laps but Tim was just biding his time and looking after his tyres. Once there was plenty of heat and grip in the slick tyres that he opted for, he reeled in Paivarinta, overtook him and promptly pulled away for his first Grand Prix win of the season. There was further celebration as it was Gregory’s first ever World Championship win and also the first for the Honda CBR1000RR engine thus fully vindicating Tim’s decision to opt for both Gregory and Honda power for the 2010 season. Speaking afterwards, a delighted Tim said; “I’m absolutely over the moon to have taken our first win of the season this weekend and we’ve really got the Honda engine working well now. I decided to use old tyres for qualifying and save the new sets for the races so although I was a bit off pole, I was confident that I’d make the time up in the race and that’s how it panned. I felt really comfortable behind Pekka in the first race and was just biding my time but there was one part of the track where dirt kept getting flicked up by his wheels and on one lap, it flicked a big stone up and it hit me right in the neck. It cut my neck quite badly and I was really struggling for breath for a bit and it was enough of a problem to see him pull away. Still, second was a good start to the weekend.” “I was really determined to make amends in the Gold race and got the lead from the start. I’d decided to go with slicks so when Pekka came by I wasn’t unduly worried as I was just letting some heat get in to the tyres. Just after half distance I pushed really hard, caught Pekka and then once past, I pushed hard again to make sure I pulled away. It worked a treat and once I was in the lead I controlled the race and it’s great to take my first GP win of the season and move up to 2nd in the World Championship. The Honda engine was totally new to me at the beginning of the season but it’s working really well now and will only get better. There’s a few things we can still improve on still but I’m well chuffed to give both Honda and Gregory their first World Championship win and I’m confident it won’t be their last!” There’s no rest for Tim and Gregory as they now head to Oulton Park for Round 3 of the Battle of Britain F1 Sidecar Championship this weekend, where there’ll be looking to extend their title lead.