From a press release issued by Bridgestone: MotoGP Riders Help Launch Bridgestone Hypersport Tyre In Jerez Tuesday 18 March 2008 Six Bridgestone-shod MotoGP riders took an active role in launching Bridgestone’s latest sporty road tyre, the Battlax BT-016, at the Circuito de Jerez last week after performing demonstration laps with the new tyre in front of some 130 attending journalists from all over the world. Fresh from his Qatar GP win, Ducati’s Casey Stoner and his team-mate Marco Melandri both attended the week-long event on Wednesday, Kawasaki’s Anthony West joined Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi on Thursday, while Honda Gresini’s Alex de Angelis and Alice Team rider Toni Elias attended on Friday, all in all representing one-third of the grid from Qatar just over one week ago. Each of the riders got a first-hand taste of the BT-016 under the guidance of former GP rider Jeremy McWilliams, who was working for Bridgestone during the week to set up the bikes at the track, and all seemed impressed with the agility and handling of the new Hypersport tyre, which uses tyre technology derived from MotoGP. The BT-016 is an advanced Hypersport tyre designed to maximise the performance of sport bikes on the road. Bridgestone has combined MotoGP construction technology with its latest multi-compound technology to produce a tyre that gives high-level grip performance in braking, cornering and acceleration. This allows riders to enjoy improved handling, stability and grip as well as longer life and lower noise. Kenji Shoda, Bridgestone Europe, Director Consumer Products “It has been a privilege to welcome six MotoGP riders to our Battlax BT -016 international media launch event in Jerez, a very important occasion for Bridgestone Corporation and Bridgestone Europe. This new tyre sees us transfer tyre technology from MotoGP into road bike tyres and we are thrilled to have been able to showcase that cross-over by having some of the best riders in the world in Jerez. I would personally like to thank Casey, Marco, Loris, Anthony, Toni and Alex, and their respective teams, for their taking time out of their busy schedules to support us.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Capirossi joins Bridgestone Tyre Launch in Jerez Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Loris Capirossi last week attended the international media launch of the new Bridgestone Battlax BT-016 tyre, which uses tyre technology derived directly from MotoGP. In addition to discussing tyre technology with the specialist bike media, Capirossi completed a handful of laps of the Jerez circuit in Spain, using a Suzuki GSX-R equipped with the new BT-016 Hypersport tyres. Under the guidance of former GP rider Jeremy McWilliams – who was working with Bridgestone to set up the bikes at the track – Capirossi impressed the attending media and Bridgestone management with his skills around the Jerez circuit, putting the BT-016 through its paces. The BT-016 is an advanced Hypersport tyre designed to maximise the performance of sports bikes on the road. Bridgestone has combined MotoGP construction methods with its latest multi-compound technology to produce a tyre that gives high-level grip performance in braking, cornering and acceleration. This allows riders to enjoy improved handling, stability and grip as well as longer life and lower noise. The next time that Capirossi will be on Bridgestone tyres is when he will be piloting his awesome Rizla Suzuki GSV-R around the Jerez circuit for the second round of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship on Sunday 30th March. Loris Capirossi: “I have been a Bridgestone rider for many years, so it was a pleasure to join them last week in Jerez for such an important event. The BT-016 is a great tyre, and gave me a really good feeling, especially at the front, which works really well and is very stable. The rear grip is also good, and it is the first time that I feel the road tyre is similar to the race tyre. I felt immediately comfortable. I now need to get some for my own Suzuki GSX-R1000 which I use on the road!.” Kenji Shoda – Bridgestone Europe Director Consumer Products: “It has been a privilege to welcome MotoGP riders to our Battlax BT-016 international media launch event in Jerez, a very important occasion for Bridgestone Corporation and Bridgestone Europe. This new tyre sees us transfer tyre technology from MotoGP into road bike tyres and we are thrilled to have been able to showcase that cross-over by having some of the best riders in the world in Jerez. I would personally like to thank Loris and the Suzuki Factory for their taking time out of their busy schedules to support us.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: CASEY STONER AND MARCO MELANDRI JOIN BRIDGESTONE TYRE LAUNCH IN JEREZ A few days after the opening MotoGP event of 2008 in Qatar, Casey Stoner and Marco Melandri attended the international media launch of the new Bridgestone Battlax BT-016 tyre, which uses tyre technology derived from MotoGP to produce a tyre that gives high-level grip performance in braking, cornering and acceleration. Stoner, fresh from his race win at the Qatar GP and Melandri completed a handful of laps of the Circuit de Jerez in southern Spain using a Ducati 848 equipped with the new BT-016 hypersport tyres, together with former GP rider Jeremy McWilliams, who has been working for Bridgestone to set up the bikes at the track. Both said they have been impressed with the performance of the 848 and the new BT-016 hypersport. “Riding on track with Marco and Jeremy, for once without the pressure of the chronometer was good fun”, said the World Champion. “My initial impressions of the tyre were good and so was my feeling with the 848 which has impressed me with the handling, the power delivery and the stability in braking. It has been a good relax after the excitement of the GP. Bridgestone has played an important part in my MotoGP career, they listened to me from the beginning, even if I was still young and I hadn’t won MotoGP races, they gave back what I was putting in, so it has been a pleasure to join them at this event.” “It truly was a very fun event,” echoed Melandri. “I went out to make five laps with my 848 and I just didn’t stop lapping. After two hours they had to stop me or I would miss my plane! The tyre offered a fantastic grip, the bike was amazing in every aspect: the front precise in the changes of direction, the power simply great, the rear enjoyable when sliding entering the corners. Now I need some days of relax but not too many. I really look forward to get back working with my team in order to be able to get the maximum from my GP8”.