Bridgestone outline challenges of Aragon

This weekend’s Aragon Grand Prix provides the MotoGP field with a very challenging circuit. The 5km long circuit has a huge variety of corners that range from the fast sweeping corners to stop start sections. The weather is always a massive variable at Aragon with last year’s race seeing a multiple hour delay on race day with the fog of the morning leaving the warmup sessions delayed.

For Bridgestone the weather challenge means that the tyre allocation is crucial with the Japanese firm’s motorsport manager, Hiroshi Yamada, outlined this by saying:

“We could see from last year’s race that the location of Motorland Aragon makes it susceptible to variable weather which makes tyre performance even more of a focus during the weekend,” said Yamada. “Our tyre allocation for this weekend is developed to ensure the riders have suitable options for every possible weather condition so we are well prepared for whatever the weather brings. With the championship battle between Valentino and Jorge so finely poised, I would expect that we will see yet another circuit attendance record broken this weekend.”

Shinji Aoki, head of tyre development for Bridgestone, discussed the difficulties presented by the track surface.

“Motorland Aragon is a circuit with relatively smooth and slippery tarmac so there is a need for good mechanical grip which suggests softer compounds,” said Aoki. “However, there are also some long corners and some downhill braking points which require greater stability from the tyre, which generally requires harder compounds, so tyre selection here is a balancing act.

“Generally, ambient temperatures at this time of year at Aragon are warm, but the elevation of the circuit means cooler temperatures are also possible, last year’s race for example saw track temperatures of only twenty degrees Celsius. This means that warm-up performance is also an important consideration when developing tyres for the Aragon Grand Prix.”