Bridgestone Motorsport’s GP2 Series Report

Romain Grosjean (Barwa Campos Team) and Edoardo Mortara (Telmex Arden International) both took race wins  on  Bridgestone’s  medium  compound  tyre  in  the  opening  round  of  the  Bridgestone-supported  GP2 Series at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, Spain. Bridgestone’s medium compound Potenza GP2 racing slick made its first ever appearance at the Barcelona circuit,  as  previously  the  hard  compound  has  been  used  at  this  event.  Due  to  the  change  in  compound allocation, competitors had a greater tyre management challenge than in previous seasons. The emphasis in 2009 is on the drivers learning and understanding the capabilities of the softer GP2 tyres and adapting to maximise the performance of the Bridgestone compounds. In Saturday’s 39 lap feature race Grosjean dominated, taking full points for the race win, pole position and fastest  lap.  Barwa  Campos  teammate  Vitaly  Petrov  finished  in  second,  with  Jerome  d’Ambrosio  (DAMS) completing  the  podium  line-up.  The  majority  of  drivers  changed only their rear tyres, a typical strategy for Barcelona to reduce the effects of degradation. Mortara, Grosjean and d’Ambrosio finished top in Sunday’s 26 lap sprint race, all teams having started on the mandatory new set of tyres for race two. Mortara also claimed a point for fastest lap. Leaving Barcelona, Grosjean  leads  the  drivers’  championship  on  18  points  from  Mortara  and  d’Ambrosio  both  on  10.  Barwa Campos Team leads the teams’ championship with 26 points from DAMS on 13. Telmex Arden International is in third position with 10 points. The next round of the 2009 GP2 Series season will be held on the streets of Monte Carlo where Bridgestone’s super soft compound will be used. Quote from Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport “Congratulations  to  Romain  Grosjean  and  Edoardo  Mortara  for  their  race  wins.  Bridgestone  is  proud  to support the GP2 Series in its fifth season, and it is great to see 26 drivers battling on circuit, showing their talent for potential futures in Formula One. Spain is a very important market for Bridgestone so having three Spanish drivers and two Spanish teams in this fantastic championship is great for us.” Quote from Hirohide Hamashima – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development “The  degradation  of  the  Bridgestone  GP2  medium  compound  tyre  was  on  target  with  the  organisers’ requirements this weekend. The GP2 Series organisers wish to educate the drivers and teams in terms of their  tyre  management  and  strategy.  This  weekend  the  drivers  needed  to  manage  their  tyres  well  as  the allocation was one step softer than last year. Grosjean was strong in race one and his car setup assisted his tyre usage. Congratulations to Mortara in race two for his first GP2 victory. Degradation was much less than yesterday, due to track improvement, and this could be a good indicator for today’s Formula One race also. ”

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The Bridgestone-supported GP2 Series will start its exciting fifth season when 13 teams and 26 drivers from around the world line up on the grid with Bridgestone’s medium compound GP2 Series slick tyre in the first round of the ten round championship, as part of the Spanish Grand Prix on May 8-10. Bridgestone tyres are once more the official tyre for the GP2 Series as they have been since the Series began. Just like last season, the GP2 Series tyres will be produced at Bridgestone’s Technical Centre in Rome. In 2008 the hard compound tyre was used in Barcelona, however Bridgestone’s tyre allocations for 2009 are generally one step softer, so in Barcelona the medium compound will be used. All competitors will have to work hard to find the best set-up to harness the potential of Bridgestone’s tyres at the 4.66 km Circuit de Catalunya, located 20km to the north east of Barcelona. The circuit gives tyres a thorough workout. High loads are experienced, particularly in turn three, and those tyres on the left hand side of the car are put under a lot of stress. Bridgestone brings an average of 760 tyres to each round, and these include both wet and dry weather Potenza tyres. In 2008, Alvaro Parente (Super Nova Racing) and Kamui Kobayashi (DAMS) both took race wins in Barcelona. Both drivers return to GP2 for this season, Kobayashi remaining with DAMS, with whom he has just won the GP2 Asia Series championship whilst Parente is now racing with Ocean Racing Technology. Quote from Hirohide Hamashima – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development “Barcelona is quite a severe circuit so it will be a challenge for competitors to use a softer tyre than has been used here previously. Braking stability is important in Barcelona and it is very important to get a good car balance in the slow speed corners. This weekend will be a challenge for teams and drivers alike and I expect we will see some exciting racing as 26 drivers try to stake their claim on an F1 drive for next year.”

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