New Bridgestones not ready for Turkey

The Japanese tyre manufacturer has been working hard on ways to improve its rubber's qualifying pace, and much hope has been pinned on the new front tyre that should bring better speed and allow increased confidence from the riders.

However, Bridgestone manager of motorcycle sport Hiroshi Yamada has said that there are no plans for the tyre to be ready for the next race at Istanbul in three week's time.

"We hope that our front qualifying tyre development work will prove advantageous in the long run, but we still need more time to evaluate the front spec, so it will not be introduced in Turkey," he said following further tests of qualifying rubber at Jerez this week.

"I believe that the rear tyre is where we will derive most benefit and improvement in qualifying performance. The initial test results from Tuesday were certainly promising and we are quite pleased with the progress made so far."

Yamada admits that Bridgestone's qualifying concerns remain strong, even though the race pace of their tyres appears to be more than a match for rivals Michelin.

At Jerez last weekend, Casey Stoner and Toni Elias were the fastest riders in the closing stages, but could not challenge for the podium because they had dropped too far back in the early stages.

"I certainly think that our riders faced a bit of an uphill challenge by not being on the front row (in Jerez), but this is no reflection on them or the tyres. Several of our riders could have staked a claim for the front row and the top 15 riders were separated by less than one second.

"Starting from further back on the grid allowed the guys at the front to pull out an all important lead, which was just slightly out of reach by the chequered flag.

"Toni and Casey's advantage in the final laps reduced the deficit from almost ten seconds to just one second by the end of the race. I am sure a few extra laps would have made all the difference.

"Since winter testing, we have worked hard to improve our qualifying tyre performance and I was pleased to see a reduction in the gap to the front in Qatar and Jerez GPs.

"However we know that there is still work to do and we are always seeking continuous improvements in this area."