No 16" for Bridgestone

Bridgestone has no plans to follow rivals Michelin and begin testing 16-inch front tyres for the new 800cc MotoGP era.

Michelin started testing its 16-inch front at this week’s Sepang test in Malaysia in a bid to close the gap on Bridgestone, with Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden both testing the new front. 

Designed to help with corner speeds and the more nimble 800cc machines, Michelin is developing the 16-inch front to try and close the advantage Japanese manufacturer Bridgestone has over them in this area.

Bridgestone boss, Hiroshi Yamada, said: “At the moment we have no plans to start testing a 16-inch front tyre. 

“Our riders seem happy with the 16.5 so we will continue with that specification.”