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Featured in the June 2019 Issue of Roadracing World:
We are so spoiled. I mean, not in exactly the way I
am being spoiled on this perfect, gorgeous day in the breadbasket of southern
Spain, nestled among wind farms, cultivated fields, and private bullrings,
lapping the famed MotoGP racetrack Circuito de Jerez while trying to follow
two-time Superbike World Champion Colin Edwards, who graciously agreed to tow
me around for a session and show me the lines and how Jerez flows.
That is a more episodal kind of spoiling. I’m thinking of
a more general spoiling that we all, as motorcycle riders and
racers and enthusiasts, are experiencing with the relatively recent
astronomical advancements in technology that have sped the evolution of our
beloved bikes and their accessories from mute objects into intelligent,
interactive partners…
A similar phenomenon is present in tire development. Tire
technology has advanced so far
with carcass construction,
tread design, construction techniques, and the constant introduction and
fine-tuning of new compounds, that the bar is far higher than it was just a few
years ago. Street tires have come a long way, baby!
But street tires are not race tires, as we were
reminded several times by representatives from Bridgestone, even though it’s often gains realized with
racing tires that drive new developments in the street market. Purpose-built
race tires serve a single purpose; street tires must be more flexible across a
wider variety of applications and environments. That means that it is a lot
easier to find the limits of a street tire on the racetrack than it is to find
the limits of a race tire.
That said, it is impressive how well a modern
street tire like the new Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S22 can stand up to the
kind of punishment a racetrack can inflict …
Spoiled By Tires by Melissa Berkoff, in the June issue of Roadracing World
Bridgestone put its new Battlax
street sport tires into the hands of racers and motojournalists on a Grand
Prix-level racetrack and let them do their worst. Find out how well the latest
from Bridgestone can deal with levels of abuse that are well beyond the limits
of sane street riding. It’s all in the June 2019 issue of Roadracing World!
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