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The Bridgestone tyre company
announced their 2006 programme, which covers supplying teams in the
following championships, Formula One, MotoGP, and GP2. In a press conference
Shigeo Watanabe, CEO & President of Bridgestone outlined the year ahead.
Below is the Bridgestone Press
Release.
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 Formula
One (F1) and MotoGP racing head a full slate of motorsports competition for
the Bridgestone Group in 2006. In addition to Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro and
MF1 Racing, Bridgestone will supply tires to three new teams for the 2006 F1
season: the Panasonic Toyota Racing team, the distinguished WilliamsF1 team
from England and the Super Aguri Formula One team, making a total of five
teams and ten cars. The 2006 F1 season kicks off in Bahrain on March 12 and
wraps up in Brazil. There will be 19 races in all.
As for the GP2 series, established in 2005, all of the competitors will race
on Bridgestone tires, akin to last year. The series is a training ground for
prospective F1 drivers. Regulation changes this year will see a shift from
grooved dry-weather tires to slicks. The level of competition is expected to
get even tougher as the primary aim of the drivers is to be a future world
champion. The GP2 series comprises 23 races on 12 circuits.
Bridgestone will also continue to supply—under its Firestone brand—all the
tires to the Indy Racing League (IRL). This year marks the fourth
consecutive year that Bridgestone will sponsor the Bridgestone Indy Japan
300 mile. This third race of the 2006 IRL calendar, will take place on
Saturday, April 22, at Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture. This year's
14-race IRL season will include races on street courses as well as on road
courses. It gets under way on March 26 in Miami.
Bridgestone will supply Bridgestone-brand tires to the Champ Car World
Series exclusively. Fifteen races are scheduled for the 2006 season.
Bridgestone will also supply Bridgestone-brand tires to the Japanese
Championship Formula Nippon, Japan's top formula category. Satoshi Motoyama
won three of the eight races in 2005, taking the championship title prior to
the last race. With the introduction of a new chassis and the supply of
engines from Toyota and Honda, Formula Nippon is expected to heat up even
more in 2006. This year's Formula Nippon calendar, like last year's,
consists of nine races.
In the midst of heavy rain, the Toyota Supra team of Yuji Tachikawa and
Toranosuke Takagi led from start to finish in the final round of the Super
GT series of 2005 to clinch the championship. Multiple manufacturers
supplied tires to Super GT Series teams last year, but Bridgestone-equipped
machines won seven of the eight races in the GT500 category and monopolized
the top of the rankings. In 2006, the Suzuka 1000 will be added to the
calendar for a total of nine races - eight in Japan and one in Malaysia. The
competition is expected to be hot again this year.
Bridgestone will also continue to supply tires to various categories in
motorcycle racing this year, including MotoGP, which is the pinnacle of the
sport. Last year, riders using Bridgestone tires captured pole position
three times and posted podium finishes eight times. This included two number
one finishes with a victory for Loris Capirossi in the Japanese GP. In the
2006 season, the fifth year in this class, Bridgestone will supply tires to
three teams - the Ducati Marlboro Team, the Kawasaki Racing Team and Team
Suzuki MotoGP - and therefore six machines.
In the All Japan Road Race Championship, Bridgestone tires were used by the
champion in each race class last year. The company will supply tires to all
classes again this year, from JSB1000 to ST600, GP250, GP125 and the newly
established class, GP-MONO.
In the AMA Supercross/Motocross Series, Bridgestone supplied tires to the
champion of both series last year. In Motocross, Bridgestone tires were used
by the champion for the second consecutive year. In the 2006 season,
Bridgestone will supply tires to the racing teams of Suzuki, Kawasaki,
Yamaha, and also to several other top ranking teams.
Bridgestone will also supply its
tires to other motorsport categories including the All Japan Gymkhana
Championship, the All Japan Dirt Trial Championship, the All Japan Rally
Championship, and the All Japan Kart Championship, and also to other
categories in motorcycle racing such as the All Japan Motocross
Championship.
Below is a summary of the main
motorsports program for 2006.
FIA Formula One World Championship Bridgestone-equipped drivers and teams
Driver Team
Michael Schumacher Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Felipe Massa
Ralf Schumacher Panasonic Toyota Racing
Jarno Trulli
Mark Webber Williams F1 Team
Nico Rosberg
Tiago Monteiro MF1 Racing
Christijan Albers
To be named SUPER A GURI Formula One
To be named
2006 F1 Calendar
March 12 Bahrain, Bahrain
March 19 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
April 2 Melbourne, Australia
April 23 Imola, San Marino
May 7 Nurburgring, Europe
May 14 Barcelona, Spain
May 28 Monaco, Monaco
June 11 Silverstone, Great Britain
June 25 Montreal, Canada
July 2 Indianapolis, United States
July 16 Magny-Cours, France
July 30 Hockenheim, Germany
August 6 Budapest, Hungary
August 27 Istanbul, Turkey
September 10 Monza, Italy
September 17 Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
October 1 Shanghai, China
October 8 Suzuka, Japan
October 22 Sao Paulo, Brazil
GP2 Series
All drivers and teams will race on Bridgestone tires.
2006 GP2 Series Calendar
April 9 Valencia, Spain
April 23 Imola, San Marino
May 7 Nurburgring, Europe
May 14 Barcelona, Spain
May 27 Monaco, Monaco
June 11 Silverstone, Great Britain
July 16 Magny-Cours, France
July 30 Hockenheim, Germany
August 6 Budapest, Hungary
August 27 Istanbul, Turkey
September 10 Monza, Italy
September 17 Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
* The race in Valencia, Spain will be held solely while other races will be
with Formula One races.
IndyCar Series (IRL)
All drivers and teams will race on Bridgestone's Firestone-brand tires.
2006 IndyCar Series Calendar
March 26 Homestead, Florida
April 2 St.Petersburg, Florida
April 22 Motegi, Japan
(Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 mile)
May 28 Indianapolis, Indiana
(Indy 500)
June 4 Watkins Glen, New York
June 10 Texas, Texas
June 24 Richmond, Virginia
July 2 Kansas, Kansas
July 15 Nashville, Tennessee
July 23 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
July 30 Michigan, Michigan
August 13 Kentucky, Kentucky
August 27 Sonoma, California
September 10 Chicago, Illinois
* A race in St. Petersburg, Florida will be street course, and races in
Watkins Glen, New York and Sonoma, California will be on road course.
Champ Car World Series
All drivers and teams will race on Bridgestone tires.
2006 Champ Car World Series Calendar
April 9 Long Beach, California
May 13 Houston, Texas
May 21 Monterrey, Mexico
June 4 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
June 18 Portland, Oregon
June 25 Cleveland, Ohio
July 9 Toronto, Canada
July 23 Edmonton, Canada
July 30 San Jose, California
August 13 Denver, Colorado
August 27 Montreal, Canada
September 24 Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
October 15 Ansan, Korea
October 22 Surfers Paradise, Australia
November 5 Mexico City, Mexico
FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix MotoGP Class
Bridgestone-equipped riders and teams
Rider Team Machine
Loris Capirossi Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP6
Sete Gibernau
Shinya Nakano Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-RR
Randy Depuniet
John Hopkins Team Suzuki MotoGP GSV-R
Chris Vermeulen
2006 MotoGP Calendar
March 26 Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
April 8 Qatar, Qatar
April 30 Istanbul, Turkey
May 14 Shanghai, China
May 21 LeMans, France
June 4 Mugello, Italy
June 18 Catalunya, Spain
June 24 Assen, Netherlands
July 2 Donington Park, Great Britain
July 16 Sachsenring, Germany
July 23 Laguna seca, United States
August 20 Brno, Czech Republic
September 10 Sepang, Malaysia
September 17 Phillip Island, Australia
September 24 Motegi, Japan
October 15 Estoril, Portugal
October 29 Ricardo Tormo, Spain
Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, is the world's largest
manufacturer of tires and other rubber products. Tires account for 80
percent of Bridgestone Group sales worldwide. The company also manufactures
industrial rubber and chemical products, sporting goods, and other
diversified products. It sells its tires and other products in more than 150
nations.
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