Bridgestone to Introduce New Compound in Austria

Bridgestone will introduce a new tyre compound in Austria next week, where the sixth round of the 2002 World Championship is set to take place.

The Japanese tyre maker supplies Ferrari, Sauber, Jordan, BAR and Arrows this year, and had quite a challenge throughout the past week in testing with the five teams on six different locations, in four different countries. Nevertheless, Bridgestone said all teams had the opportunity to try at least one of the tyre specifications it is taking to Austria.

"The A1-Ring is a very different track to the Circuit de Catalunya with particular characteristics that we have to take into account when developing tyres for the Austrian Grand Prix," Hisao Suganuma, technical manager of Bridgestone Motorsport, said. "The surface is smooth and short on grip but the type of soft compound one would normally choose for better grip may not be strong enough to cope with the A1-Ring's demanding corners.

"Graining on the front tyres, which in simple terms is the wearing down of the grooves from the outer edge, is a problem, and the track has a tendency towards understeer. The rubber needs to be strong as well as having good adhesion - we achieve this through compound development, the ingredients we use and the way they are put together."

Bridgestone had its best result in Spain last week, when four of the points-scoring finishers were driving with Bridgestone-shod cars. "After five races I am pleased with our performance and the competitiveness we have shown but we are now entering a crucial period," Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Motorsport, said.

"We must keep pushing forward and not let two or three strong races go to our heads. Therefore, we will be putting our past successes out of our minds once we arrive in Austria."