All Bridgestone teams get 16-inch tyres

The new size tyre was first rolled out at Le Mans, and then tested again following the Catalan Grand Prix. It will complement the normal choice of 16.5-inch rears used so far this season.

The 16 inch rear is designed to offer a larger contact patch with the ground when the bikes lean over through corners.

"In the post-race test in Le Mans last month, we obtained good results from evaluations of new rear shape and compound, which we will be supplying to our teams in Donington this weekend," said Bridgestone's Hiroshi Yamada.

"As part of our technical development plan, we also tried 16-inch rear tyres in the test after Catalunya, which appear to give some of our teams better handling, stability and grip.

"Some teams will be trying the 16-inch rears in Donington practice to see whether it could offer an advantage in the race, but tyre performance is circuit dependent, so we will have to see if the results from Catalunya test translate to Donington.

"This area of development is not a new concept for Bridgestone, though, since we ran 16 inch rear tyres with the Kawasaki team in Mugello last year, so it is more of a natural progression with the 800cc bikes."

Donington will be vitally important for Bridgestone as last year it was one of the Japanese manufacturer's weakest tracks.

John Hopkins was the leading Bridgestone user in the 2006 British GP, finishing half a minute off the lead in eighth.

However Bridgestone had also struggled at Barcelona in the past, but won this year's race with Casey Stoner.

Michelin ran a 16 inch rear tyre over the Mugello MotoGP weekend, but eventually opted not to race it after poor weather meant that teams only had two hours of dry practice time. The French manufacturer then stuck with its regular tyre size throughout the Barcelona event.