Bridgestone will bring its soft and super soft Potenza tyres for the only night race of the 2009 FIA Formula One season, the Singapore Grand Prix, which takes place on September 25-27.
This allocation has previously been used in Monaco, Budapest and Valencia and will suit the requirements of the 5.07km street course which weaves its way through the Marina Bay area of the sovereign city state.
Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, said:
“Last year’s Singapore Grand Prix was Formula One’s first ever night race and it was a tremendous success. Singapore is an important hub in Asia so having a race here is very beneficial for enhancing Bridgestone’s brand awareness in the region. We are looking forward to visiting Singapore once more and seeing many more fans introduced to this fantastic sport.”
Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What are the challenges of Singapore?
“Last year was the first time we ran at Singapore and we learnt a lot. It is a street course so we will see a lot of circuit surface evolution and improvement as the track is first cleaned by cars running, then racing rubber is laid, meaning better grip. This makes finding a good set-up difficult as the track condition is a moving target.”
What are the primary tyre performance considerations?
“There are the usual considerations for a venue which is not solely designed for motor racing. This means we bring the softest tyres from our range, both of which are lower temperature working range tyres. Last year we saw that the track was quite bumpy. This adds an additional requirement for the suspension set-up as an uneven surface can bounce the tyre out of contact with the track, which means less grip.”
Stats & Facts
Number & Spec of tyres brought to Singapore 1800 (Soft & super soft dry. Intermediate/wets)
Pole position time 2008: 1min 44.801secs (Massa)
Fastest race lap 2008: 1min 45.599secs (Raikkonen)
Top three 2008: Alonso, Rosberg, Hamilton
Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation
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