Bridgestone to bring new softer ’Red’ tires to San Jose
We confirmed with Bridgestone's Joe Barbieri in San Jose today that indeed this is the softest "red" tire they have ever supplied to Champ Car. The goal is to make more of a difference between the harder black and softer red tires. At some events the drivers have found the black tires to be as fast as the red tires and Champ Car wants there to be more of a gap. In some ways that puts Bridgestone in a difficult position because if a driver says his tires went "off" it makes it sound as though Bridgestone is at fault when in fact it's expected that the soft tires will lose their grip towards the end of a stint.
07/25/07 Bridgestone Motorsport is bringing its softest street-course primary and wet condition Potenzas to take on San Jose's temporary street circuit for this weekend's Champ Car race. The primary Potenza is the same tire used here last year, and it has proven its merit on the streets of Las Vegas, Long Beach, Houston and Toronto this season. Engineers have elected to bring a new spec of the alternate red-sidewall tire that has been designed to provide drivers with increased grip. The alternate tire for San Jose is an advancement of the alternate tire used in Long Beach earlier this season.
From Al Speyer, Executive Director, Bridgestone Motorsport: "Bridgestone Motorsport is bringing the same primary Potenza tire that we brought here last year, so drivers will have a good idea of what to expect. The new alternates, designed to give the drivers even more grip, should come in handy on this tight street circuit and provide some extra excitement for the large crowd of spectators that always turn up for this event. The new alternate tire contains cutting edge technology that we hope someday will improve the performance of Bridgestone's street tires. Using racing to develop better street tires continues to be an important element of Bridgestone's Champ Car program."